


Mortys Eleven

by Leenden



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Casino Heist, Citadel Story, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-04-16 12:14:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14164629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leenden/pseuds/Leenden
Summary: The Gr-augh-nd Casino: the Citadel’s largest hotel and casino, and the largest money changer in the galaxy. Their security is ironclad, but not bullet-proof; a tempting target for the smooth talking ex-conman, Slim Easy. He seeks the help of four other disgruntled Mortys, tired of working for slave-wages under their Rick bosses. With their combined talents, and Slim's plan, they might just pull off a score that will change their fortunes forever.





	1. For Me, It's Always Like This

_Sheets down the chute! I have to remember to put the sheets down the chute,_ Tails told herself for only the tenth time since she started cleaning her scheduled hotel floors- two, to be exact. That was only twenty rooms, but they were the expensive suites, which required much more attention. Still, today was one of two light days she got a month. With any luck she could leave early and get started early on her weekend. Just the thought slowed her steps for a second too long.

 “I’m not – I don’t pay you to fuck around. Get back to work, _Morty_!”

The gritty voice of her Rick supervisor ordered her to move, and move she did. She moved right out of room 176 and on to 177. Almost done, she attempted to cheer herself up, but the wound had already cut deep. Tails felt her heart constrict. Hearing her birth name used against her was like a knife in back. She’s rather die than be referred to as a Morty.

For the sake of argument, Tails was once a Morty a long time ago. She still had the same curly brown hair and the same dark eyes, but that’s where the similarities stopped. She was a confident…well, not really. She was a headstrong…no, not that either. Well, she was a girl nonetheless, no matter what anyone thought to her – at least in the comfort of her own home and mind.

Room 177 was, as expected, a pigsty. Three fat Glorbenauts; her friend Fiver warned her that they were renting the room, and they left it as their kind always did. Purple cum stains covered the blankets, sheets, and even the pillow cases. It looked like one of them wiped their thirteen dicks off on the curtains.

Tails swallowed back her disgust as she walked to the mini fridge. It was empty and stuffed with what only could be described as a dead Nerka. The poor little Fenine had been raped to death and partially eaten, stowed in the tiny compartment for later consumption.

The bile lurched in her stomach. She swallowed hard. Luckily, she didn’t eat today or else she would have added to this mess. That wouldn’t be the case once she entered the bathroom, however.

There was a dead Glorbenaut in the bathroom. He hung from the shower curtain rail by a necktie, all thirteen of this dicks rock hard and seeping. Green diarrhea coated then entire wall of the shower where he evacuated his bowels.

Tails threw open the toilet lid and vomited on the burbling mess that one of them left in the toilet. Tails stumbled back and vomited another stream of clear foamy liquid, feeling it burn in the back of her throat. She tried to recover with several huge gulps of air but only managed to make herself dizzy.

“What th-eugh fuck are you doing, _Morty_? Best not be helping yourself to the amenities.”

The Rick’s cruel bark pricked through the earpiece. He was always watching her, always picking on her whenever she stopped for longer than a second. That’s why she always called him The Watcher. He’d embraced the title once he got wind of it. He got a tattoo of a cross-hair over his right eye just to let everyone know he was watching them.

The voice forced her to choke back increasing pain in her throat. “No, sir!”

“Then what? A-eugh-re you taking a shit or something?”

“N-no, sir,” Tails panted. “Room 177, it needs incinerated, sir.”

“Ugh, I’ve heard eaugh-of whiny fucking Mortys but you-you take the fucking cake. W-what do you mean incinerated?”

“Ah jeez, Rick, incin – you know. One of the customers just fucking hung himself w-w-while masturbating. And th-there’s shit literately floating out of the toilet. Don’t g-get me started onth-onth on the cum stains, everywhere.” Tails pinched the bridge of her nose, trying calm the pain rolling up behind her eyes.

“Is that it?” The gritty voice mumbled.

“Yeah – well, there’s a Nerka that’s been fucked to death in the – in the mini fridge.”

Tails stomped out into the hall to get some fresh air.

“Wow, sounds like one hell of party.” He loosed a gritty laugh. “Listen, Morty, how many in–augh-cineration did you use this month?”

“I dunno, W-ah-Rick,” Tails rubbed her arm. “Like zero, I think, I know I-I had one from last month saved.”

“Huh,” She could hear the hollow thump of fingers on a tablet screen. “I’m not seeing any. You should hold onto those for rainy days. Boy, it-it-it sounds like its torrential shit-storm down there, am I right?”

“You fuc- I know I have some saved!” She screamed.

“Prove it, you fucking piece of shit.” He chided. “Y-y-you know no one would ah would take your side on this. So ah fucking s-ugh-ck it up, bitch. Do your job before I g-get another Morty to do it for you.”

Tears filled her eyes as she looked back into the nightmare room for another long beat.

“Y-yes, sir.”

He laughed. “Good luck!”

So much for going home early. Tails wiped her eyes on her sleeve and went back inside to yet another nightmare.

* * *

 

Things were hopping in the Casino Central Bank today. At least four hundred schmucks gathered around the crescent moon shaped wall of windows, waiting to be seen by a teller. Sometimes a guard would come by and they’d line them up, but it only took a moment or two for them to mosh together into a disgusting lump of overdressed, oversexed, overpaid, inebriated scumbags. And Slim Easy loved each of them for it.

“Can I, ah - like help the next person in line?” Slim called to the mass waiting in ‘line’.

Three trussed up turkeys elbowed, bumped, and shoved each other to try and get some leeway. Slim didn’t give a crap which one was next. He just rested on an elbow and watched.

“Watch th-that right elbow, fatty, it’s a nose bust- oh there it goes!” He cackled uncontrollably.

That was until he felt a powerful flick that threatened to tear his ear clean of. The gold hoop through his lobe smacked his cheek hard enough to leave a red patch. He whipped around and stared straight into the chest of Bank Manager Rick. Slim whistled as his gaze slowly traced up the scarecrow physique of the man.

“Ah jeez, Banks,” As Slim referred to him. “You’re smellin’ great today.” He smiled so his gold fang showed.

“It’s Ode Del a Turd! Man-augh-manufactured in your mother’s sweaty butt crack.” He sneered.

“Oh, man, dude, you’re gonna talk about your own daughter-”

Banks didn’t let him finish. He closed his hand around his throat and lifted him a few inches from the stool before slamming him back down. Slim Easy coughed and swallowed against the pain before fixing his tie and collar.

“Y-y-you know chief. You should really buy a guy a drink b-before doing something like that.” Slim winked at him.

The bank manager narrowed his eyes, furrowing his unibrow. There was murder in those eyes and Slim was his intended target. Slim Easy had no intention of acting meek or scared. It would only make Bank’s dick hard to see a Morty being all submissive.

“Blamurble tallim blurberry.”

A huge green tentacle slapped against the window startling both Banks and Slim. They both stared into the pulsing anus of a mouth the alien had.

“Can I please get some *expletive* service?” The small translator built into the wall next to the window chimed in with a cool feminine voice.

Slim smirked up at Banks, who stood tall with his hands behind his back. “You were er-saying?”

“I-I ah, Morty, I want to se-eugh you after your shift.” He turned away.

“Oh jeez, Rick, we’ll see about that.” He mocked.

When Banks didn’t respond, Slim Easy chuckled and turned back to not-so-patient alien still slapping against the window.

“Alright, assface, how can I help y-you?”

* * *

 

Fiver looked at his watch for the hundredth time in ten minutes. The entire Casino’s first shift ended in another twenty minutes. By the time the second shift arrived, he’d be well on his way to another weekend. Time flies when you hate your life.

“A-are you excited for the weekend?” Fiver asked, his voice carrying a southern drawl.

His friend Two Ton sat behind him in a chair, picking at the plastic bag of leftovers he’d been allowed to take home. He lifted it with a wide smile.

Two Ton wasn’t a stretch of a name for him. Once a Morty from the fat dimension, his Rick experimented on him, turning all his fat into muscle. Shortly after, he was deemed an abomination and exiled to the citadel. It was easy for him to find a job as a bouncer at the Creepy Morty, a sleazy strip club, that’s where Fiver met him.

“Ahh yeah, bud, g-got yourself a good haul.” Fiver’s southern drawl dipped when he stuttered. “Yep, just another eighteen minutes an-and we’re home free.”

“Y-y-you got customers!” Two Ton grumbled.

Fiver felt his skin prickle with sweat, when he looked at the rather large group of Levarians. Picky to the point of argument over every little thing, he’d have to circumnavigate this one like a trooper if he wanted to get out on time. Fiver cracked his knuckles, squared his shoulders, and slipped up to the counter to greet them.

“G-greetings, y’all. We-welcome to the Gr-augh-nd Casino Hotel.”

They all stopped bickering and turned each of their six eyes to look at him. He smiled casually and tapped a white gloved knuckle on the counter.

“You here – will you be staying a-at our hotel?”

He could hear his southern drawl getting snagged on his stutter and hoped they wouldn’t be offended. The tallest Levarian cleared its throat and started squelching in an ear piercing tone. Fiver could hear Two Ton grunt and the sound of his bag of food hitting the marble.

Fiver didn’t look back; he could already envision Two Ton covering his ears at the horrendous noise the Levarians made. He just fought to keep a smile and slowly typed his password into the computer.

“We desire a room.” The cool computer voice from the translator on the desk informed him.

But then it launched into another long rant that was nearly lost beneath the wails and cries of the Levarians. All of the computerized lines clashed together into a horrible broken tune of…

“Is he mocking us!”

“I’ve never been so insulted in all my life.”

“That’s what we get for going to a hotel that employs Mortys.”

“If this was a reputable place, they’d send a Rick to deal with us.”

All the while Fiver kept a smile; it was a twitchy one, but a smile nonetheless. He tapped the screen a few times to set up a new room placement.

“So will it be the four of you i-in four separate rooms?”

He tried to talk over the cocktail of the computer’s broken tone on the verge of overheating from the vocal inputs and their squelching complaints.

Fiver’s ears clicked, his eyelid twitched in time with the slow clacking approach of boots on the marble floor. It was like the Dark Side Death March; it instilled excitement while making a little pee tinkle out of him. His heart all but stopped when the tall shadow fell over him. At least the Levarians stopped talking. The calm before the storm.

“Is th-eugh-re a problem, madame?”

The Rick was dressed in the finest gray dress jacket with a white undershirt and steal blue tie. The lapels were trimmed with gold that matched the buttons and his name tag. Often times, he was referred to as “Take no prisoners Rick” for the very reason that he didn’t care who these customers were. They were not important enough to waste his, or the hotel’s, time. To Fiver, he was just known as White.

“Sir!” The translator responded for the lead Levarian.

“I-I-I don’t give a shit. Y-you’re ho-augh-lding up business with your pathetic inability to take even the s-slightest bit of criticism.” White pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know h-how things are done on planet Tumblr, but – but you all need to –f-ugh-king stop being pussies about every sideways glance or comment and let this worthless fucking Morty do his job. If there are anymore problems, I’ll charge you d-augh-ble on your rooms, got it?”

“We’d like two rooms, please.” The computer voice said coolly.

“G-good! Are we all set? C-can you go about your fucking day now?” White exhaled sharply. “And – and you, fat stuff, fucking find another location to parasite! This is a place of bu-ugh-ness, not a hangout for you and your butt buddy.”

White hefted Two Ton up by the ear and dragged him along, kicking and screaming. Fiver turned his attention back to the Levarians, pretty sure that his face was visually washed with sweat.

“So, two rooms, huh? T-that’s a good start. Do – are – do you want, uhm, like standard or deluxe?” He asked.

But his words fell upon deaf ears. All the Levarians could talk about was how well the Rick in the snappy suit was able to get this situation under control and put the Mortys in their place. Fiver looked at his watch and sighed. At least his shift would be over in just a few minutes, and then he could start his weekend.

* * *

 

The visual scanner infrared light blinded him for a moment. It forced him to blink tiredly. He could hear the familiar blip that always sounded when his mouth was scanned.

 “Hey, hey Morty, augh - what are you packing in there?” The lazy-eyed Rick asked from inside the security booth.

“My dick, biotch!” The over exuberant Rick with the twitch called out, and they both laughed.

The gravelly voice felt like sandpaper on Braces’ back teeth. He just sucked in a deep breath of air, feeling the sting on his sensitive eyeteeth and exhaled it out again.

“I-It’s my – you goddamn – it’s my braces. You know that, i-i-it’s on my fucking name tag. Now let me in, I-I have to get these forms signed off on.”

He was losing patience. He pushed his glasses up on his forehead to rub his eyes. It was the only thing he could think of to keep the thrum in his head from getting worse.

“I’m -augh- sorry. I couldn’t understand you with the dick in your mouth.”

Again, they descended into childish laughter. Braces gritted his teeth hard enough to make his inner ears hurt. He slipped his hand into the pocket of his gray slacks. He felt the cold steel of his phone- it was no bigger than a card from a standard deck, but it held infinite powers. There was an odd comfort there, but also a nagging voice in the back of his head reminding him that that was his trump card. No matter how much he wanted to pull it, he had to wait. No use in winning a hand unless it was the jackpot.

“Just-just fucking let me in, y-you goddamn assholes.”

“Why are you in su-eugh-ch a rush, Morty?” The lazy-eyed Rick asked. “Gotta date tonight?”

The excitable Rick started tittering. “I d-didn’t think your apartment let you –augh-ack-have dogs in it.”

Braces sighed and swallowed hard. “B-bypass scanner C-23-eh-80.”

The red infrared light turned green with a satisfying bing and the security grid lowered. Both Ricks looked at each other and slammed their fists against the bullet proof glass. They yelled and screamed. The glass was soundproof, so Braces couldn’t hear them- not that he wanted to.

He was met by another Rick, wearing the same gray, blue, and silver guard outfit. Braces referred to him as Blue as he had blue eyes and a calm demeanor. Some believed that he had a partial lobotomy as evidenced by the scar on his forehead, but Braces never asked, so it was only speculation.

“That was mighty amazing, Braces.” He said, in a calm, sober tone as he escorted Braces to see the Boss.

“Oh jeez, th-that? I-I just used my phone to i-input a code that would allow me to – I rewrote the password to get through.” Braces smiled; the fluorescent lights overhead gleamed off the metal on his teeth.

“Wow! That’s pretty smart.”

“You like that? You’re r-really going to like it when they try to leave,” Braces chuckled. “I –ah- may have changed the password to the door of the security too.”

“That’s a good move, Morty, er-”

“You c-can just call me Braces.”

“Oh. Right.”

“So are you going out tonight with –ah- that other Morty?”

“Her name is T-Tails. I told you that, too.” Braces could feel the pounding in his head returning.

“R-Right, Tails. There’s so many names bouncing a-around in here.”

“That’s alright.” Braces smirked. “A-as for - to answer your question. Nah. Well, maybe – hopefully!” Braces mused. “I’m gon-gonna order some food and see i-if she wants to hang out on the couch.”

“Alright! Just a little Netflix and fuck!”

“Er…chill.”

“Okay, I’ll chill, sorry.”

“No- oh my god, it’s Netflix and chill, it’s an old meme from – eh- you know what, forget it.” Braces brushed the comment off. “I-I just want to have a nice time, y-you know. Like, just see where it goes.”

“Well, if you hit it, t-tell me the deets, dawg.” Blue stopped the last few steps away from the office door.

“I’ll ah sure do that, Blue, talk to you later.” Braces said politely, though he had no intention of following it through.

When he stepped through the door, he found himself in a dark office. The only light came from the many monitors set up behind him. In all the work stations, the maintenance Mortys were hard at work.

Braces could see that the new shift had already started, which meant he was late for his rendezvous. He’d have to hurry.

When he approached the desk, he was greeted by the steely gaze of the Rick that he reported too. Braces referred to him, as many other Morty did, as Boss. Even Mortys in other departments knew to refer to him as Boss. The room smelled strongly of bourbon and cigar smoke. It tickled the back of Braces’ throat.

“S-sir, here is my repair re-request forms and the overage forms for today. As I-I - here’s the read out on all the materials I used to perform the jobs.” Braces laid out the forms in a straight parallel line across the desk as he introduced them.

“Very good, y-ugh-ou seem to excel were other Mortys fail. I-I’m glad to have a Morty like you in my d-department.” Boss smiled, resting his chin on his hands.

“Thank you, f-f-for the compliment. I have to go. I’m late for a little get together.” Braces said, excusing himself.

“Just one more thing. Please take a seat.”

“S-sir?”

“Apparently, you’ve been pla-eugh-ing games with our security officers. Care to elaborate?” Boss got up from his desk.

“Well, I-”

“Take a seat. You-you’re g-going to be here a-eugh-while.”

Braces hunkered down in the chair offered to him. It was significantly lower to the ground than normal chairs, adding to the illusion that all Ricks towered over Mortys. He could tell by the slow pacing movement of Boss that he was going to be here for a long time. He only hoped that Tails wouldn’t be too angry about him being late.

* * *


	2. A Day Late and a Dollar Short

Braces slipped out of the office, feeling a little more limber from the figurative riding Boss gave him. He was now over an hour late to meet up with Tails and he was pretty sure she wasn’t waiting around for him to show up.

“Th-that f-fucking cocksucker!” Braces swore.

He slipped right past the security checkpoint and broke into a run before he could be stopped by the two new Ricks on duty. He burst through the main doors and sprinted for the elevators.

When he rounded the corner, he could see the elevator doors closing which only pushed him to run faster.

“H-hold the doors,” he squeaked.

His gaze met with a Rick’s who had a scar cut diagonally from forehead to jawline across his face. He sneered and let the door slide closed.

“Piece of fucking-”

To his surprise, the door stopped closing and sprung back open. Braces slid safely into the elevator, only to be greeted by a frustrated exhale. The door closed them in the small confines and started rolling downward. It left him wondering, who would brazenly defy a Rick straight out? _It must be another Rick_ , he mused. He couldn’t be any more wrong in his life.

“Hey, Chrome, n-name your floor.”

A Morty, dressed more like an eighties gangster, peered around Scar’s legs. His hair was slicked and parted to the left. He was dressed in a snappy burgundy dress shirt with the top three buttons popped so his smooth chest showed. His black vest hung, unbuttoned, from his narrow shoulders.  The ensemble was complete with a pair of polished black shoes and pressed black trousers that were tight but tailored to fit comfortably.

“Oh jeez, uhm, basement floor 1-2, please.”

“Y-you got it, kid.” He clicked his tongue and pushed the button.

“P-augh-thetic.” Scar grunted.

“The name’s Slim Easy.”

He held a hand out, but Braces’ attention was drawn to the gold tooth that showed when he smiled. Braces took his hand and gave it a sharp jerk. Braces couldn’t believe his strong grip, nor could he hide his surprise when he found a black business card with burgundy writing etched into it. It was his name and number with the title ‘Odd Jobs’ along the top. He wasn’t sure what that meant but he could guess. Braces looked over to Slim who was watching out of the corner of his eyes. He wriggled his eyebrows when he realized he had been noticed.

“Nice tooth.”

“Eh – y-you think so?” Slim chuckled. “I-I-I can tell you’re quite the – the dental aficionado yourself.”

“Oh my god, fucking kill me now.” Scar grumbled.

Slim’s eyes narrowed. “Hey – di-dick, why don’t you shove it up your fucking ass. I-I-I’m having a conversation with my new friend here. One more backhanded comment and-and-and I’ll make the rest of your scrawny ass look like your fuckin’ face.”

Both Braces and Scar blinked at the sudden outburst and traded a look. Slim gritted his teeth to the point that Braces could hear them grinding, making his own teeth hurt. Scar had nothing else to add and stood there still like a scarecrow.

Slim tucked his hand in his back pocket and smiled in a strangely sweet fashion for someone who just threatened a Rick.

“I, ah, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Braces.”

“Us Mortys gotta stick together.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Braces smiled.

They both snickered and went back to their quiet confines.

The elevator dinged when it stopped and the gold plated doors slid open to the welcoming smell and sound of popcorn as well as laughter, fun and games. The cool calculating voice came from overhead, letting everyone know that they were welcomed to floor 12, the theater and arcade floor. It was followed by a warning for those getting off to watch their step.

“Welp, that’s me.” Slim stepped out offering a bow to his new friend. “Hey, Chrome, i-if you ever wanna hang out; I-I work in the bank down on fourth floor.”

“I-I – that would be a-awsome.”

Slim backed away while flipping a two fingered salute before, slipping past a couple of Fleegoids, who nearly dropped their concessions. The last thing Braces heard as the door was closing was Slim saying in a rather stereotypical tone- “I’m walking here!”

The doors to Basement 1-2 were barely opened before Braces sidled through, darting down the hall toward the benches where he was sure Tails would be waiting.

The illusion was shattered when he came around the corner to find the green upholstered benches empty. It felt as though someone punched him in the gut, leaving him with a sick feeling.

He flopped down on the benches and pulled his phone out. He flicked the screen on, surprised to see that he had three messages. The first one was from over an hour and half ago. His anxiety spiked. He was sure that it was Tails calling to tell him off. He slid the play button to the center of the reader and held it up to his ear, preparing for the worst.

“Hey, B-Braces, It’s Tails, I-I-I - don’t wait for me after work. Like, room 177 was trashed and the fucking W-Watcher denied me an incin-incineration crystal. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home.”

He swiped for the next message.

“It’s a pretty shitty thing I did. You know I-I-I’m sorry, Braces. I’ll bring home dinner tonight, my treat. Please don’t be mad at me.”

Braces pursed his lips thoughtfully. “H-how can I be mad at you?” He murmured aloud as he swiped to the next message.

“Hey Braces-”

For some reason the voices echoed. It was as if he could hear Tails in real life. If he’d turned his head a second earlier, he’d have seen her walking towards him instead of listening to the next message. Something about the jovial tone in her voice only twisted the knot in his stomach. It caused his whole body to twitch with frustration.

“Hey, remember Fiver, from the front desk? I met up with him at the b-bus stop. He’d lost his friend and I offered to help him find him, so it might be – I might be a bit later than I thou-”

He nonchalantly ended the message the moment Tails walked up to him. As the message promised, she had company. A Morty with a ponytail, wearing a jean jacket and a dusty brown cowboy hat. There was also a rather large Morty in a tank-top. They all seemed happy and rosy-cheeked for some reason.

“Ta-Tails.” Braces regarded her.

She smiled at him and covered her mouth with her finger, not wanting to interrupt his phone call. The cowboy and thug shared a look. Taking a note from Tail’s lead, they quickly stopped talking.

“Well, y-yeah, Cindy, anything’s possible!” Braces said without giving his thoughts a thorough review before letting them fall out of his mouth. “Tomorrows no-no good, heh, I’m hanging out with ah with a friend of mine. Maybe the twelfth?”

“Oh, don’t-don’t cancel plans on my account.” Tails cupped her mouth and whispered as if it would help guide her voice to him. “You should hang out with Cindy.”

“Yep, twelfth’s good. I-I-I’ll see ya then, Cindy!” He quickly flipped something on the phone and crammed it in his pocket.

“T-Tails!” He said excitedly.

She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Braces, I’m so sorry for leaving you waiting h-here for so long.”

“A-actually, I just g-” He saw the sad look in her eyes and his mouth started working before his brain again. “I ah it-it’s cool. It was totally worth it. What’s a few hours between friends?”

The cowboy gave him a wry smile. “You two are quite the pair! Y-y-y’all always being so helpful to one another and all.”

“Oh, Tails, w-who are your friends?”

“These are the ones I told you about in the message.” She said excitedly. “This is Fiver, and that one’s Two Ton.”

“Messages?” Braces said coyly.

Tail’s excitement immediately drained out of her face. “I see - I called you like three times, Braces.”

He looked at his phone and faked a ‘huh’ sound. “So y-you did. I must - I missed that.”

She hugged herself; he could see the red tint flushing across her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Braces. I guess I-I ah should have just come here and, you know, told you to your face.”

The more she talked, the guiltier he felt about the trouble his mouth was causing. “Please, Tails, f-forget about it. It’s water under the bridge.”

 “W-well, I see y’all got some stuff to work out. Uhm, he-here Tails, for all the trouble.” He held out a wad of fluorescent blue bills. “I couldn’t ah found Two Ton without you.”

Tails took the money and looked at it. “You – you don’t have to pa – aw jeez, f-forty credits?”

“So you and your boyfriend can uhm, you know, can get a Luber home or something.” Fiver smiled at her.

“He’s not m-” She could see Braces’ eyebrows slowly arch as she spoke. “I mean – he’s my friend-”

“And roommate.” Fiver smiled. “I-I know, you only talked about him mo-most of the night.” He gave Braces a smiled that shone of familiarity. “Yeah, you-you know maintenance is the back bone of our Casino, so uhm, thank you.”

Braces looked at Tails, who hung her head slightly under his stare. “Thank you, but really I-I’m just a tiny worthless cog, in ah, in the larger scheme of things.”

“This conversation’s getting dark. Two Ton out.” The thick Morty shrugged it off and started walking the other way down the hall.

“Well, there goes my large, uhm  – hey, we should hang out sometime. All of us.” Fiver started backing away.

“That would b-be nice.” Tails sighed and waved to them. “Don’t get lost, Two Ton,” She called to him, and giggled. “Y-you-you - he’s getting away.”

Fiver started off in a jaunt down the hall after his friend. He flipped them a friendly wave before he got too far down the hall.

Tails waited a second longer, making sure they didn’t forget anything, before she hurried on towards the bus stop. Braces fell in behind her. It was easy to tell by her posture that she was tired, or sad, or maybe it was combination of both. It didn’t help that he made matters worse for her.

“Can we uhm, can we talk?”

Tails slowed as she reached the bus stop. “I-I...no. Braces, I don’t want to talk anymore. Can-can we just go home, order some food, and f-forget that today happened?”

“Y-yeah, sounds good.” A smile came to his lips. “It looks like dinner tonight’s on Fiver.”

She loosed a lazy giggle and tucked the blue bills into her bra. She flopped down on the bench tiredly and leaned back against the bus stop’s wall. Braces slipped down to sit next to her, making sure to give her space. It was unnecessary. She immediately slid next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He wrapped a tired arm around her.

“Th-thanks for being a good friend,” She whispered. “You-you des – I don’t deserve you.”

Braces swallowed hard and kissed the top of her head. “Sure you do.”

 _It’s me who doesn’t deserve you._ He thought about saying, but didn't. They sat and waited for the bus to arrive.

“Tails, I have a-a-”

“Not right now.” She sighed and nestled into his neck. “I’m in de-desperate need of a shower.”

“Alright, it-it can wait.”

He nodded and closed his eyes, resting his cheek against her forehead.


	3. I Don't Work That Way

“…will that c-complete your order, Morty F125?”

“Braces – just call me Braces.”

“Very well. Will I – can I get you anything else?”

“No, th-that'll be all. Thank you.” Braces slumped down at the end of the sofa.

“Very w-well. Your order will be there sh-shortly. Have a good night, and th-thank you for ordering Imperial Palace.”

The phone went dead silent, leaving Braces horribly aware that he was alone once again. The only sound in the apartment came from the shower running in the bathroom. The prospect that Tails was in there thinking about how badly she disappointed him hurt. He was going to have to tell her the truth, or the guilt from lying might just kill him. But how could he waltz in there and tell her?

Before he could reason things out, he already had the bathroom door open and he was standing just inside the room.

“Braces, what is – is everything alright? What are you doing in in here?”

Tails sounded distraught or worried, maybe both, it was hard to tell over the pounding of his heart. It only took a few second to work up something to say, but they were the longest seconds in his life.

“Everything’s f-fine.”

“Then what are you doing in here?” Her voice piqued loudly in the confines of the shower. “I’m fuc – I’m naked in here.”

“I know; th-there’s no reason to worry. I can’t see - I installed a holographic fi-field that makes the shower door appear, like, opaque from this side.” Braces rubbed the back of his neck.

“Oh jeez, really?” She did something behind the white shield over the door. “You c-can't see that?”

“Nope.”

“Oh, Braces, you’re always the most – just so thoughtful.”

“Wait. I –I mean, wait with all that praise, because…I have a confession to make.” He leaned against the wall next to the shower door.

“About what?” Her voice dropped in tone.

Braces explained about how he’d been held up in a meeting and he’d only been waiting a moment before she arrived. He also admitted to hearing her messages and instead of coming clean about it, he'd pretended to be talking to some phantom girl named Cindy.

“Why –why –what would possess you to do that?” Tails voice cracked with frustration.

“I-I don’t know. You were with that other Morty and – and I got jealous. Like, I don’t ha – I don’t know what to say about how I – do you think you can forgive me?”

The door slid open and he was pulled into the shower at a blinding speed. Tails slammed him against the fiberglass wall, hard enough to bounce his head on the soft material. The surprisingly hot water burned him; his clothes sticking to his body only made it worst. She was pressed against him so close that he couldn’t even breathe without his chest pressing back against hers. He was so surprised by the sudden aggression that he could even look away from her dark gaze.

“I felt like shit, making you wait like that. You made me feel bad for he-helping Fiver out. To top it off, you guilt me into feeling like –like I’m holding you back from talking to other girls, all because you-you-you’re fucking jealous? What’s wrong with you, Braces?”

Even with the water on her face, he could see that she was on the verge of crying but willing herself to not indulge him, as if it might show some kind of weakness.

“I don’t – I don’t know. I just…I’ve always liked you. I-I mean, you have to know that, right?”

“There’s no – no excuse. If you want to fuck me, than do it.” Her eyebrows went sharp, narrowing her eyes. “If that’s all that fucking matters to you, then just do it. You-you-you don’t even need my permission, I’ll just lay there like I did for everyone else that paid to f - that wanted to stick their dicks in me.”

Braces looked away, the guilty knot in his stomach making him feel sicker the longer he stared at her. She grabbed his chin with her free hand and pulled him around to look at her again.

“I…I’m s-sorry.” Tears filled his eyes. “I just want to be more to you.”

“Wh – Braces, you already fucking are!” She released his collar and hugged him closely. “Fuc – open your fucking ears just a minute. You’re the only one I tell my, my problems to because I think you actually give a–a shit. You’re th-the only one I actually wanna see at the end of my days.”

“I-”

She closed her hand around his mouth. Her hands were shaking so hard, he thought the vibrations would loosen his braces. She hung on him weakly and sniffled. He wrapped his arms around her and kept her from falling over. She shuddered at his touch, and he wanted to believe it was a good response, but knew that it wasn’t.

“Sh-sh-shut the fuck up and listen, Braces. Y-you mean more to me than anyone ever has. But you ha – you gotta understand. If you need me to hop on your dick anytime, whenever your feelings are hurt, or you feel insecure, or worried our relationship is threatened; I can’t. I don’t work that way.”

“I don’t need that.” Braces touched her face. “I just – I wish we could have a regular relationship.”

 Tails stepped away, hugging herself. “I-I know but you have – you gotta work with me. It’s only be-been two years. It’s just not enough time for my wounds to heal.”

Braced sighed. “I know.”

“Do you? Do you, really?” She wiped her eyes. “I was th-three when my Rick started mol – ah – started using me. According to him, I was - he used me up by the time I was ten. That’s why-”

“He sold you to that slaver.”

“After that, every man – fucking anything that came in contact with me, up until the time I was twelve, on-only showed up to stick it to me and then leave.”

Braces touched her shoulder only to receive a flurry of slaps on his hands and face. She backed hard against the wall. Her curly ribbons of hair fell down over her face but he could still see one of her chocolate eyes staring at him as if he were a predator and she the prey.

“Do you – is that want you want? You wanna fuck me, just so you-you can feel like we’re something more? Do you need that kind of re-reassurance? If that’s w-w-what it takes, I have thirty seconds and nothing better to do.”

This time Braced gripped her hands and held them close together. She fought only for a second before he managed to press his forehead to hers. She pushed back but didn’t attempt to pull away again.

His voice quivered as he did his best to keep from crying. “Tails st – stop, please. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I’m such a shit-”

Tails kissed his cheek softly, resting her head to his shoulder. “You’re not a shit, Braces. I know you couldn’t be a shit, because I-I’m still here. But if you-you-you’re hoping I’m gonna be the perfect girlfriend and the love of your life...You’d better think again. I’m too – I’m all used up. You m-might want to try someone else.”

“No, I’m willing – you’re so worth it.”

“And wha-what if nothing comes of it?”

Braces smiled at her. “Then at least I got to spend some precious time with my best friend.”

Tails gave him the warmest smile she could muster and gave him a soft peck on the lips. “Sorry if-”

“You-you-you don’t have to be sorry. I deserved it.” Braces said.

Before she could argue the point, Braces slipped out of the shower and stripped out of his wet clothes, making sure to hang them from the towel racks to dry. They remained quiet while he toweled off. Before he left, he pressed his hand against the glass hesitantly. Calm washed over him when he saw Tails touch her hand to his through the glass.

Keeping with the silence, he slipped into the hallway to get some fresh lounge clothes from the dresser just outside of the bathroom.

Once he was dressed, he walked into the living area of the studio apartment. He stopped suddenly when he saw Slim Easy sitting at his kitchen table with a large bag of Styrofoam takeout containers. He smiled when he saw Braces.

“Chrome! Nice digs you got here. Sorry I let myself in, but the de-de – the guy bringing your food was just gonna pitch your food on the floor and leave.” Slim chuckled, slipping a cigarette from behind his ear and tucked it in his mouth.

“Do-don’t smoke in here!”

Slim looked down at the cigarette as if he was surprised to see he was holding it. “I, uhm…don’t mind me.”

The whole scene seemed surreal. Braces looked around the room as if there might be a hidden camera to capture his reaction or something. When he was fairly certain there was none, he turned his ire on the sleazy Morty sitting at his table with an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

 “What-what the fuck are you doing here?”

“Easy, Chrome,” He smiled. “You seem a bit-”

He stopped talking when Tails walked into the room wrapped in just a towel pinched under her armpits.

“Sorry I drenched – uh, who the fuck is that?”

 “Jesus,” Slim got to his feet, snatching the cigarette from his mouth as he did. “You-you got a Morticia living with you!” Slim laughed. “Dude, you’re living right.”

“I’m not a Mor-”

Braces stepped in front of her. “Hey, di-dickface stop ogling her!”

“Whoa – fucking whoa! Does everyone wanna sit down and have some fucking food?” Slim said. “Listen, pencil-neck, I – I ain’t even here for her. I’m here for you-you.”

“What?”

“You might wanna get dressed, toots. I’ll be here for a bit.” Slim wriggled an eyebrow at her.

Tails retreated back into the hallway to get dressed but she kept an ear cocked to what was going on in the other room. Braces slipped into his chair and stared at Slim with an indifferent look on his face.

“What do you want with me?” He asked.

“You’re one of them maintenance guys, right?” Slim licked his lips. “You-you got mad – you’re skilled.”

“Skilled enough, I suppose. For what?”

“Theoretically, hypothetically, do you think you could rob a casino?” Slim tested the water with each word he said.

“Rob a casino? Wh-wh-what is – what kind of fucking question is that? Who are you working for?” Braces snapped.

“Me! I-I-I’m putting together a team of Morty’s t-to help me rob the Gr-augh-nd Casino.” Slim cracked a pair of chopsticks apart.

Braces looked over at Tails, who was coming into the room wearing the same expression he was. They shared a glance and looked back at Slim as if he had something on his face. He didn’t look dissuaded by any stretch. If anything, he looked more confident than when he first mentioned it.

“Braces, a tech guy,” He pointed at him and then pointed at Tails. “Who are you, sweetheart?”

Braces clenched his fists beneath the table but relaxed when he felt Tails hand on his shoulder. It was a soft caress that always managed to sooth any kind of stress that plagued him.

“I’m Tails, one of the many maids.” She said coldly.

“Tails, huh? You’re a Morty, right, from G249, eh?” He whistled a low-key catcall. “Wow, wow - who’d have thought that? Not that I’m judging! I like e-em – like whether they dangle or not! I’m not picky.”

“Don’t fucking c-call me a Morty. I-I’m a-”

“Alright, spaz, I’m sorry.” He said earnestly. “I didn’t mean to offend you. If it’s any consolation, I could use you both.”

Braces pursed his lips. “Even if-if we decided to help you – not saying we-we-we will – how will we do it?”

“Well, I got, like, a fool proof plan. We just n-need a couple more-”

Slim’s thought was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Well, there they – speak of the devil and they shall appear.” Slim laughed.

Again, Tails and Braces exchanged a look as he got up to answer it. To his surprise, two very familiar looking Mortys stepped into the room. It was Fiver and Two Ton. The four of them exchanged questioning glances with each other.

Fiver’s eyes opened wider when he saw Braces, but not nearly as wide as his smile when he saw Tails standing behind him.

“You!” she said softly.

“S-Small world, huh?” He chuckled.

“Very small,” Braces said.

His eyes narrowed as he stood next to Tails, trying to keep the jealous look off his face. Fiver crossed his arms and sat on the back of the sofa, while Two Ton snagged a whole takeout container and hunkered down in Braces’ seat to start shoveling food in his face.

“Well, since we’re all here, shall - should we begin?” Slim didn’t wait for them to respond; he just launched into a long winded plan that promised to make them all rich beyond their Morty dreams.


	4. All In

Slim Easy tapped his fingertips on the table while three of the other four passed glances at each other. Two Ton was still shoveling food in his mouth. Fiver paced around the incredibly small room. Braces quietly worked over some figures in his head. Tails leaned against the counter, sipping from a bottle of water. Besides Slim, no one had spoken for the past half hour, and now that he was done the room was plunged into silence.

“Well?” Slim said, gesturing to each of them.

“I, for one, think you’re crazy.” Fiver rubbed his cheek. “I-I-I mean, no offense or nothing, but five Mortys robbing th-the biggest casino – not only on the citadel, but in the entire quadrant? I-I - its bat shit crazy.”

“Anyone else feel that way?” Slim picked his tooth before rolling the toothpick to the corner of his mouth.

“The only one of us with – you and Braces are the only one with special skills.” Tails added.

“And me!” Two Ton said with a cheek full of orange chicken.

“Yeah, and you, buddy. Ain’t no one discounting you.” Fiver added.

“It ain’t about skills at this point, it – it’s about the fucking – listen, aren’t you tired of being at the bottom of the barrel?” Slim jumped to his feet, slamming his hand down on the table. “Don’t you wi-wi-wish you could just fucking win for once, instead of being a Rick’s fucking bitch!”

“I-I was at the fucking peak of life. Slick would do anything for me and I’d die – I’d fucking sell my soul for him. If he knew w-what –how these citadel shit-stains treated me, he’d fucking bury them on a passing comet and be done with it.” Slim wiped his nose.

“What-ah happened to your Rick?” Fiver asked.

“His name was Slick. He just happened to be a Rick.” Slim crouched down, wiping his eyes with his hands. “He was killed some lying sack of shit!”

“I’m sorry-” Tails tried to say.

 “I don’t need your fucking pity. I-I-I need your fucking help.” His voice spiked.

“Why us, man?” Fiver pursed his lips. “Th-there are a million Mortys out there, why did you choose us?”

“Bad luck, I guess.” He sniffled.

“No, compadre, it’s more than that.”

Slim rolled his eyes and pointed to Fiver. “You were abandoned by your Rick and forced to become a stripper to make your way t-t-to where you are. Two Tits here-”

"Two Ton!” He snapped the fork in half as if it were nothing.

“Two Ton, sorry – anyway, this guy here he was experimented on by his Rick and instead of owning up to it, he pitched him through a portal to Shitsville.”

“And toots, here…”

Slim walked over to where Tails was standing and pressed an arm next to her head, leaning in. She gritted her teeth and tried to walk away but he caught her arm and pushed her up against the fridge again.

The first hit, he expected. A solid one across the chin. But the subsequent three hits, two rights and a left that dropped him on his ass in the middle of the floor, he hadn’t counted on. Fiver was already in route to halt any retaliation but Slim held up a hand in a peaceful gesture.

“It’s fine. I stoked that fire on purpose.” He wiped the blood from his nose. “Morticia here was a child sex slave, once her Rick deemed her too old to diddle anymore. You killed one of your handlers and escaped, right?”

Her face flushed red. “You-you-you don’t fucking know shit about me!” She screamed.

“I know that you’re a Morty – pretending to be a Morticia.”

She reared back to hit him and he flinched away. “I’m mean, I-I-I don’t give a shit. You do you, but standing there cl – saying something isn’t true because you refuse to believe it is ignorant and beneath you, Tails.”

Fiver gripped Slim by his arm and pulled him to his feet. He gave him a rough dust off before shoving him down in a chair. Slim spit blood onto the linoleum floor and chuckled a bit.

“If you don’t wanna help me, that’s fine, fucking rot d-down – under the boot of all the Rick’s that put you there. My Rick, he cared about me, he knew I’d go on to do great things. So, I will, I’d like to take a few unfortunate fucks with me i-i-if I can.”

His eyes glowed with the fire of a maniac ready to burn everything down. It was scary and inspiring all at once. Even Tails felt his fire- it radiated in her chest and webbed out through her body. It was something she’d not felt in a long time.

“I’ll help,” she said.

“Fuck yeah!” Slim jumped up again. “That’s one.”

“Will there be food?” Two Ton asked. He closed his empty takeout container and tossed it on the floor.

Slim’s cackle hit a high pitched tone as he clutched his face. “Food, you’ll have so much fucking – more fucking food than you can possibly imagine.”

Two Ton smiled and nodded. “I’m in, then.”

“Yeah! Two down, two more to go.”

Fiver rubbed his none existent stubble and sighed. “Well, shit. I don’t have any special skills, but I reckon if Two Ton and Tails are in, then I can help, too.”

“That’s three. What about you, Chrome?”

Slim turned around to look at their companion who’d managed to stay quiet the whole time. In fact, Braces hadn’t heard anything they’d said. He’d been too busy drawing doodles in the air and talking to himself. Whatever he was working on, he was intent to see it through to the end.

“Braces?” Tails called to him.

It was the only voice that cut through the mathematical jargon cluttering up his head. When he stopped, he noticed everyone staring at him.

“Y-yeah?”

“We were just taking a head count of w-who’s in or out.” Slim slapped him on the shoulder.

Braces’ eyes darted around to the others, still trying to regather his faculties.

“Oh, I didn’t know I ha-had a choice. I thought I was automatically in.” He smiled shyly.

Slim chuckled before clapping his hands together. “Fuck yeah!” He broke down into a fit of cackles. “This shit would not have flown without some brains.”

“You-you think that’s great? Just wait and see what I’ve been working on.” Braces smiled.

“Do you have something?” Tails asked.

Braces took everything off the table, handing it to anyone who had a free hand. He gave the table a complete wipe before patting himself down.

“Does anyone have a marker?” He asked, casually pulling his sleeves up.

“I might have one.” Tails rifled through her purse.

Slim leaned close to Braces’ forearms, his eyes grew wider. “Holy shit, Chrome! You-you-you’re all tatted out.”

Braces froze and looked down at all the designs inked on his forearms. Some of them were simple gears or a pile of nuts and bolts. Some were more complex like the graphic running up the underside of each of his forearms. One was a red wire that stated ‘never the red wire’, the other, a matching one that said ‘always the blue wire’. Slim could see that the ink flowed further up his arm, disappearing beneath his sleeves.

“These – they’re - I got them to cover up my scars.”

“Do they go all the way up?” Slim asked.

“They only go up to my shoulders.”

Tails took his arm, giving it a closer look. “How do I-I not know about these?”

“I – ah, I don’t flaunt them much.” Braces pursed his lips. “All the kids th-that worked for the Gadgeteer got them to cover up scars. No one wants d-damaged merchandise, right?”

Tails managed to find a deep grove along the underside of his arm, it was covered by a tattoo of  a surge box. “Th-th – I’m so sorry, Braces.”

“Don’t be. I w-w-w-worked hard for them, learned some skills, and I’m better fo-for my fuck ups.” He smiled.

Tails looked away and rubbed the back of her neck nervously, not sure how to respond. Braces shared a look with her before turning his attention back to the table.

“So,” Tails said. “I ah, so uhm...what did you come up with?”

“All of his is based on the information you shared, Slim, if you have anything else, l-l-let me know.”

“Will do, Chrome.”

In the upper right corner of the table, Braces wrote down their names and the days of the week from Monday to Friday in the left corner. Beneath the names he jotted down some objectives they’d have to accomplish before they could do the actual heist. Each objective was given a name and a day of the week it needed to be accomplished by.

“Alright, these are the most op-optimal times these things need to be done.” Braces pointed to Monday. “Tails, we need those com-communicators that the Watcher uses to keep tabs on you. If Slim’s right, they’ll be in his office on the twenty-third floor.”

“What good will they do? They have tracking devices in them.” She asked.

“I-I-I can rig a device that will reboot their core processors and install a link d-directly to our cell phones. That way-”

“We’ll always be in contact and completely unmonitored. Fucking brilliant.” Slim slapped Braces on the back.

“Yes,” He cleared his throat. “Now, we’ll need th-that done no later than Wednesday. Can you do it?”

“I’ll try.” Tails sighed.

“Good. That’ll make completing everything else easy.” Braces put a star next to her name.

“Fiver, by Tuesday – Wednesday at the latest, I’ll need you to reserve two rooms on the twenty-second floor r-right below the Watcher’s office. Put in a maintenance order and c-convince your superior to sign off on it.”

“Will do, bud. It sh-shouldn’t be too hard. W-W-White and I are pretty tight; I guess I only disgust him a little bit.” He motioned with his finger a small amount.

“Excellent! After that, I’ll leave a suitcase in the lobby. Deliver it to one of those two rooms. You’ll have the keys, so it won’t be any problem getting in.” He put an asterisk next to Fiver’s name.

“Slim, at the end of each of your sh-shifts, I’ll need you to individually mark the bottom of five separate bank bags with a special device I’ll have prepped before Monday. It’ll deactivate any ink packs or trackers. This is of the utmost importance.”

“We’re only taking five bags?” Fiver asked.

“That’ll be – what, it’s roughly a hundred and th-thirty-five million in unmarked alien currency.” Braced blinked. “That’s more – that’s twenty-seven million apiece.”

Fiver whistled. “That’s why you’re the brains and I’m the good looks.”

Slim snickered. “Well, you’re right about one of those things.”

Braces cleared his throat. “Can w-we get back to this?” He turned his attention back to Slim. “You know what you have to do?”

“I got your fucking back, brother.” Slim gripped his shoulders hard and gave him an excited jerk.

“Th -ah- okay, thanks for that. Probably, dial it back about twenty percent.”

“Yeah, sure thing.”

“Wednesday is the cut off, and that brings us to Thursday. That will be our day to tie up loose ends. If-if there’s anything that’s not done by Thursday, it just won’t get done, and then we’ll have to decide w-w-whether to go through with it or-”

“We’ll be ready.” Tails took his hand. “Trust us!”

“Alright, that just leaves Friday. That’s the day we do the deed.” Braces sighed. “The bank freight will pull up here in the basement. The security will use the elevator to ride up to Slim’s floor. They’ll take all the bags, i-including the marked ones-”

“Did I miss my part?” Two Ton grunted.

“N-no, I’m just getting to that. They’ll ride the elevator down to the garage. I’ll supply you with a device. All you have to do is-is-is open the hatch and drop it into the elevator. It’ll knock out both guards.” Braces drew a rough sketch of two Ricks with X’s for eyes. “Push the red emergency button and it’ll stop the elevator and lock it down. Then drag them up on top of the elevator and drop back down. Ope-op – force the doors open. By that time, Tails and I will be there to take the bags in a linen cart.”

“That when you and I,” He turned his attention back to Tails. “W-w-we’ll return to our base of operation. Transfer the money to five regular duffle bags, leaving any trackers and ink packs behind and drop them down the laundry chute. Two Ton, Fiver, and Slim will in the laundry room waiting for them. From there, th-they’ll load them into a laundry van-”

“Oh man, a laundry van.” Slim was almost giddy with excitement.

“Yes! You’ll drive, Fiver. Pull around to the s-s-side and pick us up directly at the end of our shift.” Braces cross his arms. “Then we’ll rendezvous w-with whatever transport Slim has setup for us. Finally, we’ll all be off the Citadel before anyone k-knows what happened.”

“That’s a fucking beautiful plan.” Slim clapped. “Seriously, I have a boner.”

Braces chuckled and pushed him away. “Well, k-keep it to yourself.”

“Whoa, that’s pretty impressive, Braces.” Fiver smirked. “Almost makes me believe it’ll work.”

“It will work.” Tails smiled. “I know it will.”

“Alright, ladies, let’s keep this sh-shit to ourselves. We’ll be in touch, and starting Monday, we’ll meet here every day to talk progress.” Slim tucked his hands in his pocket.

“Come on, Two Ton.” Fiver tipped his cowboy hat. “Be good. See ya’ll on Monday.”

“Thank you,” Two Ton mumbled and shook Braces’ hand. “Food was good.”

Braces fought the urge to sneer as he wiped his sticky hand on is pants. “Anytime.”

Slim clicked his tongue and fired a pair of finger guns at the two Morty’s as they shuffled into the hall closing the door behind him.

“I’ll be heading out too, but first,” He reached into his pocket and pulled a substantial wad of fluorescent pink bills. “This is for you, Chrome, for hosting such a beautiful party. I, for one, just loved the entertainment.”

He playfully tucked the money in braces loose, lounge pants pocket. “Thanks, kid.”

“For what?”

Slim smiled in such a genuine fashion; Braces’ nearly did a double take.

“For giving me hope. Ain’t had that in some time.” He lightly punched Braces in the stomach. “See ya, kids. Morticia! Make sure you treat him right.”

Tails balled her fists, which helped speed Slim out of the room. He closed the door behind him as he went.

Braces turned to look at her, he could see her happiness drain away as she hugged herself against the nonexistent chill in the room. She looked away from his gaze.

“I-”

She started to say, then rushed up to give him a kiss. He stopped her with a soft hand to her chest. Instead of giving in to her impulsive emotion, he kissed her forehead before bumping his to hers.

“I don’t think he was serious.” Braces sighed softly.

“I-I still feel – that was the most alive I’ve felt in a long time. I owe you for that.” Tails wrapped her arms around his neck.

“You don’t owe me anything.” He reassured her.

“Are you sure?” A slight smile returned.

Braces pulled away from the hug tiredly before flopping down on the bottom bunk of their beds.

“I’m sure. Now let’s get some sleep. We gotta lot to do tomorrow.”

Tails nodded and turned the lights off before climbing up into her bunk above his. They were both exhausted from the long day but oddly rejuvenated by all that happened. Neither of them would sleep for a long time. Thoughts and doubt would keep them awake.

“I like yellow.” Tails whispered. “It’s my favorite color.”

Braces took a deep breath and smiled. “Green. Gr-green’s mine.”

It wasn’t much to go on but it was a step in the right direction for what they could become. Even if it took a lifetime, Braces was committed to the promise he made to her before.


	5. Monday

Every weekday felt like the same day just relived over and over again. Tails woke up to the sound of ‘All Time Low’ by Jon Bellion as it played through Braces’ phone. Sluggishly she dropped over the side of her bed and hurried to the bathroom to shower and get ready. It was such a sweet notion that Braces always let her get ready first. Though, she suspected it’s because he wanted that extra five to ten minutes of sleep, still, sweet though.

She brushed her teeth and her hair, pulling it into a ponytail, and then she was done. She got dressed in her boring yellow shirt, black skirt, white panties, and a bra, nothing special. What would be the point? She’d just have to change into her uniform once she got to work anyway.

For one shining moment, for the sake of breaking away from the norm; she had the impulse to spritz herself with her body spray, Braces gave her on her birthday last year. Lavender and vanilla, it was her favorite. She used it so sparingly; it must have been made of liquid diamonds with how much she cherished it.

Tails held the small bottle it in her hand for a long moment. Braces stepped into the room behind her at the exact moment she sprayed the back of her wrist. His smile of approval reflected in the mirror as he passed behind her.

“Going all out, huh?” He chuckled, lifting the lid on the toilet.

Tails smirked. “I figure since I’m going to jail in a few days anyway, might as well live every day as if it were my last.”

“I w-w-was just dreaming of the same exact thing.” He cleared his throat.

Tails turned her back to him, trying to ignore the sound of him peeing. “Do you really think we can do it?”

“H-honestly?”

His stream skipped a beat at the musing. Tails knew he had a shy bladder but she wasn’t about to leave with the question unanswered.

“Yeah?”

“I know we’re going to succeed. I can feel it.”

“I can feel it too.” She smiled and slipped out of the room to let him finish his business.

When he finished up, he got dressed and went out to the living area to meet her. He held up a small device that looked like a converted controller from a streaming device. He’d removed the front plate and replaced the sensor with an infrared scanning device.

“Is that it?”

Braces nodded. “Alright, so you push the on button. Aim this little light at the bottom of the device, where the green light is.” He pointed to the button in the middle of the remote. “Push this button, you’ll see a red flash and the green light on the device will blink for a second and then turn blue. That means you’ve overwritten the core processor and it’s free from the Watcher’s network.”

“Wow, is that all?”

“Yup, just remember to do yours later on because you won’t be able to hear the Watcher anymore.” Braces explained. “As for the devices, I’ll set up a network tonight and get us all linked up.”

“How do we get the Watcher to leave his office?” Tails slipped the device into her purse.

“You leave that to me. I’ll have him come see me for some bogus reason and then buzz you on your cellphone. I’ll also buzz you again when he’s on his way back. Make sure you get there, get the devices, and get out.” Braces rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Okay.” She frowned.

“You alright?”

She sighed and nodded. “I’m just super nervous.”

Braces bumped his forehead against hers, smearing his glasses with her nose. “If anyone can do it, it’s you; I’ll be there with you every step of the way.”

“Thank you.” She kissed his cheek.

“No worries.” He rubbed his neck. “Ready?”

She nodded.

“Game faces on.” He smiled and opened the door.

They rode the bus together like they normally did. She leaned against him sleepily as he went through his messages to find out what his work load would be like. Everything was set as if by a time schedule.

Halfway to the hotel, they could smell hot coffee from the factory worker Rick’s thermos. Twenty minutes left and the Morty with the limp would board. At last the bus would stop and they’d be forced to disembark on another long day of work. If this was just any other day, that is.

Braces and Tails walked in the employee entrance and parted ways. Both of them wondered if they were trying too hard to act like this was just any other day.

Tails went to her locker, changed into her pale gray uniform, complete with white apron, stockings, and shoes. She hung up her purse but for a brief moment, something was different. She retrieves the device and slipped it into the band of the panties. Something about feeling it pressed to her pelvis made her feel powerful. She was finally going to get to do something that gave her an edge on that monster, the Watcher. A wry smile came to her lips.

Tails closed her locker. It was time to take control of her destiny. She stopped off at the cleaning service staging area. She’d managed to get in early enough that no one was there.

 Quietly she collected her assigned cart and started towards the elevator, stopping long enough to see her schedule for the day. Eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth floor today, it was a heavier work load but they were the expensive suites that trashier people didn’t rent. She climbed into the elevator and pushed the number 18 button. Until Braces contacted her, it was going to be business as usual.

***          

The day dragged on for what seemed like forever. It only made it feel like her work load was enormous even though it was a rather slow days. She was just finishing up on the second to last room when she felt the vibration of her phone inside her bra. She took a quick peak and was greeted by a goofy picture of Braces. It was three-thirty; only thirty minutes before the end of her shift.

Quickly she shoved her cart into the last room and closed the door, letting it lock. She made her move for the elevator, pushing the button. The door opened almost immediately, surprising her but not nearly as much as seeing the Watcher standing in the back corner of the elevator. Their eyes met as she stepped in.

This Rick wore a curious smirk that made her uneasy. It hasn’t been the first time she’d seen him but it had been so long ago, she’d forgotten about the crosshair tattoo he had around his right eye. It worked to make his dark eyes even darker.

“I –augh-,” He belched for a long beat. “Where are you going, Morty?”

“Floor seventeen,” She said quietly before pushing the button. “I forgot to drop the sheets down the laundry chute.”

“Typical stupid fucking Morty move.” He paused for a moment. “W-w-wait, you’re the fucking Morty that always forgets, aren’t you.”

“Possibly, sir,” She said dismissively. “I’m just a Morty after all, I can’t remember.”

The numbers on the elevator couldn’t be counting any more slowly. When they finally reached the seventeen, the doors popped open and she slipped out into the hallways in a nonchalant way.

“Hey, kid, thanks for wearing some perfume; it works wonders on covering up your - that disgusting smell of yours.” He laughed.

Tails glared back at him from over her shoulder. If only she had laser vision or some other kind of superpower that would kill him where he stood, she’d do it and not think twice about it.

As the doors were closing, she could hear him holler after her. “I have my eye on you.” Even without seeing it, she was almost certain he gestured to that horrible tattoo over his eye.

Now that he was gone, she headed for the stairs. She took them two at a time if she could. It was a long jaunt up to the twenty-third floor and there was no time to waste.

By the time she made it, her lungs were busting for air and her already weary legs were threatening to give out. Still, she’d made great time.

The soft beep of the lock as it surrendered to her master key card. She jerked it open and stepped inside the rather small office, closing the door behind her. It would be hot enough to steal her breath if she wasn’t already struggling to catch it. Prickles of sweat form on her skin. The far wall was covered in monitors that showed various parts of the hotel rooms, including bathrooms and elevators.

Lying on the desk was the Watcher headset, a half-eaten bag of chips, and the shift tablet. Tails looked at it for a long moment and thought to check her status. What did it matter if she still had incineration crystals left? He was a Rick and all of the Ricks she knew were liars. There’d be no reason to prove what she already knew.

It didn’t stop her from picking up the tablet and swiping it on. Luckily, the Watcher didn’t lock his tablet and back by popular belief, it was well in order. She managed to find her name in only a few seconds. Just as she thought, she still had four incinerate crystals. The Watcher was just being a-

She felt the harrowing tickle of her phone vibrate against her chest. She felt her gut twist unto nausea almost instantly. How could she have wasted her precious time? Tails threw the tablet back on the desk and started rummaging through the shelf full of tech stuff across from the wall of monitors, next to the door. Quickly, she plucked four of the com receivers from their cradle, laying them out one by one while she dug for the device with her other hand.

She scanned the first one and the light flashed and turned red, then blue. The second and third one did as well. But for some strange reason the last one wouldn’t scan. She was running out of time. Quickly, she slapped the device against the heel of her hand and it flashed red and finally took.

She threw the door open and grabbed all the devices, tucking them tightly to her chest. When she stepped out of the room, she heard the elevator at the far end of the hall ding and the doors slide open but she couldn’t even make out whether it was the Watcher or not. She’d quickly ducked into the stairwell to catch her breath.

One by one, she tucked the receivers here and there on her person. Her whole body shook with excitement and fear. There’d never been a time in her life that she felt so alive. She couldn’t wait to tell Braces that she did it. He’d be so proud of her. But first, she had to go down and finish that last room. For once in more years than she could remember, she felt happy to the point of tears. This time, she wasn’t afraid to cry them.


	6. Improvising

Tails leaned her shoulder against the wall of the service elevator, looking at the clock on her phone. It was now twenty minutes past the end of her shift. Luckily for her, the locker room and staging area would be empty, so she could get in and get out without incident.

After the horrifying experience of nearly being caught taking the communicators, her adrenaline drained out some time ago, leaving her tired, almost dazed. Every time she moved, she felt the devices shift. It sped her heartbeat; it reminded her of everything she’d accomplished thus far.

The doors opened and she found the strength to push her cart along the narrow corridor to the staging area. All she had to do was restock her cart, change, and rendezvous with Braces at the bus stop. It shouldn’t take longer than twenty minutes or so.

Not that it should be matter but the thought of Braces giving her that smile when she gave him the devices made her feel good. It was the first step on the way to making this whole dream come true and she’d succeeded at it. When he told them the plan, it seemed like such a farfetched idea that she was sure she’d fail.

Tails restocked the chemicals on her cart. Two fresh bags of rags and towels, along with a new mop head. She double checked the vacuum canister and pulled the garbage bag out of the cart. She dropped it down the trash chute in the corner, making sure to hit the incinerate button lest she be the one that jammed up the works.

Her phone started vibrating round about the time she was locking up her cart. The goofy face of Braces beamed from the LED screen and she swiped to answer.

“Did you?” He kept it vague.

“Yep.” She smiled.

As she walked into the locker room, she could hear his quivering sigh and knew that he was holding back any form of excitement. She imagined it would look weird if he were jumping up and down and cheering at the bus stop.

“I-I-I’m so proud of you.”

When she closed her eyes, she could almost see his wry, glittering smile. He’d always been nice to her, sometimes sickly so but now he had a reason to be truly proud of her. Everything was set into motion. She succeeded and there was no need to improvising.

“I think we should order out tonight…” Braces said.

She’d known the set up well. He would slip into a long one sided argument about how something would be better this way, or that we deserve this because. She tucked the phone against her shoulder and opened her locker just quietly listening to him justify the purchase like he always did.

Tails unbutton her pale gray shirt. She stopped long enough to fish two of the four receivers from her bra, slipping them into her purse. The other two devices, she kept in her panties. After all, that was all four – all five of them? The fifth and last communicator was her own which was still – she paused and took the com from her ear and looked at it.

The light was still green, in her haste she’d forgotten to reboot her own. Quickly, she grabbed the device and scanned her com. It didn’t work; it wouldn’t work for some reason. Finally, she slapped the remote against the heel of her hand again and finally she managed one final flash of the infrared bulb. The light flashed green and then turned blue. Before anything else could happen, she stuffed them all into her purse.

“…so, what do you think?”

Tails was finally able to cue back in to what he was saying. “Oh, you know, I’m not – I’ll eat just about anything.”

“Are you alright, y-you sound out of breath.” She could hear the concern in his voice.

“There was almost a problem but I to-”

The door to the locker room opened and she could hear the heart stopping sound of hard soled boots on the tile floor. The pace was predatory and even before he rounded the corner; she knew who it was.

“The Watcher’s here.” She whined, her heart constricting in her chest.

“Wha-wha-what, oh man, play it cool, I’m on my way.”

Tails put her phone on the shelf of her locker and slipped out of her shirt, letting it fall to the floor. She pulled her yellow button up on, trying to stay as calm and cool as possible despite the sounds of his footsteps coming to a halt behind her.

“Leaving l-augh-te again, aren’t you, Morty?” He said.

“You know m-me, just a sl-slow – stupid Morty, always forgetting shit.”

She didn’t turn around to look at him; instead, she unzipped her long skirt and let it slip around her ankles. Not wasting anytime in pulling her pleated skirt on, zipping and buttoning it. She took off her work shoes, letting the silence hang between them like an impending nightmare. She swapped them onto the bottom shelf, in place of her regular shoes.

“Stupid would be the operative word in this situation.” He grumbled. “You forgot to r-ehh-turn your communicator to the office.”

“S-s-so I did. Did you come to r-retrieve it?”

She slipped out of her white stockings, dropping them into the pile of her work clothes. She heard him move closer and her heart all but stopped.

He rested a hand on her shoulder gently. Her stomach churned into a nauseous torrent as if someone wiped a booger on her. If she’d eaten anything, she would have surely thrown it up by now.

It wasn’t that he touched her; it was the soft rubbing of his boney thumb along her shoulder blade, the soft exploring tickle of his fingers on the nape of her neck.

“You’re oddly pretty for Morty,” He mused. “Are you taking estrogen?”

The Watcher snatched one of her hands and lifted her arm above her head so she teetered off balance. He sniffed slowly along her forearm.

“I’ve read th-th-that estrogen gives off a sweet smell, something like lavender or-or perhaps vanilla.”

Tails eyes shot open wide, her heart constricted in her chest.

“Estrogen also h-h-has a weird side effect of impairing the user’s better fucking judgement.” He whispered, his rancid breath prickled her skin along her forearm with gooseflesh. “It can make an honest Morty turn crimn-augh-l.”

Tails whole body started quivering to the point that she almost folded in on herself.

“I smelled y-you! I know you were in my office.” He breathed heavily against her hand.

He closed his mouth around one of her fingers and suckled. She gritted her teeth, tears filling her eyes at the slimy feeling of his tongue caressing down past her middle knuckle to the crease of her fingers.

“I know you took those communicators, you fucking pi-piece of shit.”

He caressed along her ribs pressed a hand tightly to her chest, feeling the soft mound of her nipple beneath the fabric of her shirt. She could barely hear him over the pounding of her heart in her ears. It resembled the soft ticking of a clock as if her time on this world was growing shorter and shorter.

“I-I-I-I’m not mad, Morty.” He moaned. “I just figured since you took something of mine. I’ll take something of – that you owe me something.”

He sneered and pressed himself against her; she could feel his growing erection pricked into her back like a knife seeking her heart.

The thumping of her heart Tails heard was more like the ticking of a clock. One that she believed was ticking down to the expenditure of her life. No. It was the ticking of a time bomb about to explode and the run off was one of nuclear fallout proportions.

Tails jerked her arm free in one move. She spun hard and thrusted the heel of her palm into the Watcher’s chest as hard as she could. He stumbled back a few steps, his slick bottom boots struggled to gain traction on the tile floor. When he fell, he fell hard. His long stork-like legs flew up in the air before flopping down.

What happened next, Tails could have sworn it was someone else or perhaps a demon possession? Either way, she was on him like a wild animal on an abandoned baby.

“You fucking-”

She laced her hands through his silvery hair and rocked his head forward and then back again. Each time, she was treated with a hollow thump of his skull smacking the tile floor. He flailed one arm against the floor. She’d managed to pin it beneath her knee when she pounced on him. His other arm lashed out like a tentacle threatening to pull her under the briny deep. Tails kicked her leg up and stomped down on his elbow.

His voice rumbled in a haunting undertone that was lost to the sound of his head banging against the tile. What started as a puddle of blood grew to a lake and then an ocean. Only then did she stop and saw what she’d done.

Her body trembled, causing her joins to freeze and knot up. She clutched her face with one bloody hand before pushing away and crawling back as fast as she could until her head and shoulders hit the locker.

Tails wanted to scream but she couldn’t. She wanted to run but there was no strength left in her body. She didn’t even move or attempt to run when she heard the thundering of feet approaching. They’d heard and they were coming to get her.

Slim slid around the corner first with his fists raised, ready for a fight. Fiver was next, his cowboy boots sending him sliding into the lockers noisily. Braces managed to stop before crashing into him. Two Ton poked his head around the corner.

Braces mouth fell open; his eyes wide as he gripped the sides of his head when he saw the Watcher dead on the floor in an ocean of blood.

“Braces!” She cried.

He fell to his knees and pulled her close. “Are you okay?”

“I-I-I-” She cried harder.

“No no, shh, it’s okay. N-n-no one’s blaming you.” He took her face in his coarse hands, holding it so he could look at her. “You’re alright. Just tell me what happened.”

“Piece of shit got what he fucking deserved.” Slim kicked the Watcher’s boot.

“He-he touched me...there was…my fingers and he licked them. He knew, he knew I was in his office – he knew I took the things. The perfume, oh god, I fucked up. I was so stupid.” She wailed.

Braces pulled her tightly to him again. “It’s alright, you did nothing wrong.”

“He’s right, sweetie, fucker had it coming.” Fiver added.

Slim snapped his fingers. “Alright, time to improvise. Two Ton, grab his feet, Fiver, his head. Do you have any garbage bags?”

“What are you planning on doing?”

“We’re gonna w-w-wrap him up and shove – and put him in one of these lockers until we h-”

Tails sniffled and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “We have a garbage incinerator.”

Braces looked at her and then Slim. They both did their best to hide their smile.

“Fucking brilliant, where at, toots?” Slim asked.

“Th-through there, I’ll show you.”

Braces got to his feet and helped her up. She led the way back into the staging area. Fiver and Two Ton were lagging behind, struggling to carry the awkwardly heavy body. When she stepped around the corner; she stopped, falling back into Braces and Slim, shoving them back into the locker room.

“W-w-what the fuck’s wrong with you?” Slim rubbed his chin from where she cracked him with her head.

“Craig’s in there!” She squeaked.

A second later, Slim poked his head around the corner and saw a lowly Morty kneeling next to his cart restocking it. He looked tired, weary, and not the least bit interested in life at this point. Slim looked back at the rest of his group and gave them a thumbs up.

He started whistling and stepped around the corner, halting when the Morty turned towards him. He flashed Craig a gentle smirk. He scanned the room to help formulate an idea.

“Working late, huh, kid?”

“Yes, there was a horrible mess in room 1342 and th-that bastard Rick l-l-lied and said I didn’t have any more incineration c-crystals.” He was almost on the verge of tears.

“Hey, hey, beautiful, no tears, ‘kay?” Slim took his hand and helped him to his feet.

“Y-y-you should – I’m dirty, don’t touch me.”

“It’s cool, kiddo, I can just wash my hands. But you; look at you, tired, weary, sad.” Slim ran his thumb under one of Craig’s eye. “M-Morty’s shouldn’t have to live like this.”

“My – my, I’m Craig.”

“Call me Slim.” He smiled. “I’ve got a little favor to ask you.”

“A f-f-favor?”

Slim slipped one of the ‘Out of Order’ signs from the plastic utility shelf nearby. “Yup, take this sign, ride the service elevator up, and just stick it right to it.”

“B-b-but I’ll get in trouble.”

Slim reached into his pocket and pulled out a tight fold of three fluorescent blue bills. “A hundred and fifty credits, says you work way too fucking hard a-a-and the elevator needs to be looked at.”

“A hundred and-”

“So, whatta ya say, Craig? Can you help me out?” Slim bit his bottom lip, showing off his gold tooth.

“What about my c-”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Tails walked around the corner. Slim’s shot to her a look, surprised to see the bloody handprint washed away. She almost looked as if nothing had happened at all.

Craig smiled when he saw her. “Oh, Tails, hey – I didn’t I-” His eyes narrowed suddenly as he looked at the two of them and his cheeks flushed red. “Are – you –ah oh jeez-”

“Yeah, kid.”

Slim wrapped an arm around her, his hand resting suggestively low but respectfully away from any area that would get him punched.

Craig looked back and forth between them for a long moment before nodding. “Anything y-y-you say!” He took the money and the sign and started for the door.

“Oh and Craig,” Tails called to him. “Don’t tell a-anyone about this, please.”

Craig smiled sheepishly and nodded before hurrying on towards the elevator.

“Nice fucking timing!” Slim whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

“You didn’t need me at all, you had everything under control.”

Braces barely waited for the elevator to close before beckoning Fiver and Two Ton to bring the body in. He was already on his phone calling in a possible maintenance concern on the service elevator. Its mandatory lock down would buy them some precious time. Tails was already pulling Craig’s cart into the locker room to start cleaning up the huge pool of blood.

“Alright, up and in boys.” Slim said, standing by the button.

“Get up there, varmint.” Fiver grunted and shoved the Watcher in head first.

Two Ton barely made any noise as he angled the body into the hole and on Slim’s count of three; they dropped the body into the garbage incinerator.

“You stay here, Biggun,” Fiver slapped the large Morty in the stomach. Don’t let anyone look in there.”

“G-g-got it.”

Two Ton crossed his arms and stood vigil over the trash incinerator, while the other’s started moving back towards the locker room. Braces was hanging up his phone up when Slim caught up to him.

“Sh-sh-shouldn’t we just – shouldn’t we just push the button. Then run it again once we put the rags in there.” Slim asked.

“No, it has a reset of twenty minutes to keep Mortys from spamming it. It saves money on incinerate crystals.” Braces said.

They all hurried back into the locker room. Slim snapped his fingers and pointed to Fiver and then towards the entrance way. He nodded and hurried past Tails, who was kneeling on the floor, and around the wall of lockers to where the main entrance was. With a quick flick, he locked the push bar so that no one could get in.

With Slim and Braces help, they managed to get the blood cleaned up rather quickly. Braces worked to mopping the floor, while Tails restocked Craig’s cart.

When all the little things were done, they all gathered in the staging area. Slim dried each of his rings off and then his hands before tossing the last rag down the chute. He reached up to push the button and then stopped. He gave Tails a glance out of the corner of his eyes and gestured towards the button.

“W-want the honors, Killer?” He chuckled.

She cocked her head, her eyes narrowing but she couldn’t say anything. She certainly didn’t deny the want to push the button. The Watcher had always been a pain in her ass and he’d tried to – she shook the thought out of her mind. Without another word, she pushed the button and watched as the safety hatch below closed. She could feel the metal heating up like opening a hot oven. The safety hatch slid open and all of her problems were gone just like that.

The five of them walked out of the staging area, through the locker, and into the early evening. None of them spoke but they all gathered around Tails protectively. They knew she didn’t need the protection, or the backup. They were just there for morale support.

On the bus ride home, Braces synced their communicators to their phones and set up the hidden network so they’d always be in contact with just a touch of a button.

Tails leaned against Braces; her head on his shoulder. He hugged her close and she didn’t mind it one bit. Fiver and Two Ton were talking quietly to each other and stopped long enough to say goodbye when they reached their stop. Fiver kissed Tails on the top of her head, earning him a glare form Braces, which unfortunately got him a kiss on top of his head as well.

Braces laughed and they both waved to the two as the got out of the bus. Another twenty minutes and they’d be home. Thankfully, it went fast.

Slim gave them both a hug. “Good night, y-you crazy, kids.”

Braces shook his head. “W-w-we’re the same age, remember?”

“Yeah, I know but you’re my good little Mortys, making me feel like a dad or-or-or something.” Slim laughed.

“Well easy, daddy, it’s fringing on the edge of condescending.” Braces laughed.

“I-I-I can live with that.” Slim smirked.

Tails gave him another hug as they climbed off the bus together and walked the two blocks to their apartment building. Braces started up the small flight of stairs of the stoop but Tails just stood there looking up at the building.

“Is everything alright?” He asked, unlocking the door.

“No, it’s better th-than alright.” She smiled in such a carefree way. “It’s different.”

Braces laughed. “Different is good.”

He held the door open for her and she went inside, taking his hand as she passed by and pulled him in after her.


	7. Tuesday

When Fiver arrived in the morning, the hotel was fairly quiet. The only exception was the last shift’s maids worked to polish the marble floors and while some did the last minute dusting. Everything looked brilliant in the warm lights with the dark backdrop of the early morning. It smelled like fresh citrus fruit from the cleaning supplies used. It sure beat the dirty dance hall that smelled of booze, mold, and vomit.

He came in and walked around the counter towards the back office. In the silence, he hung up his jacket and slipped on his square-shouldered dress coat. It was gray, with silver buttons and trim. Always pressed the night before and ready for him when he came in. There was usually a hat too, one that looked something like an officer would wear, complete with a polished leather bill and a silver emblem for the hotel. It was the same routine he followed every morning. It wasn’t an easy job but he got paid well and for the most part treated well.

Something was different today. White’s door hung open and the warm smell of cigars wafted from the room. At first, Fiver thought to ignore it and just go about his day. But curiosity was a hard beast to wrangle.

He stepped inside White’s private office. The room was dark, with the exception of the pale light from a few monitors and a television with something on. Fiver didn’t recognize what it was. The walls were decorated in gray wallpaper with gold designs against the dark. Polished wood paneling traveled about midway up the wall, with a thick boarder of wooden molding, all polished dark to add to the length of shadows in the room.

White sat, leaning back in his desk. In one hand, he held a large cigar that was half burned down. In the other, he held a glass of brandy in a wide globed glass. He regarded Fiver with a nod and slowly sat forward to make himself more presentable.

“Sir, is everything alright?” Fiver asked.

“Rick Sanchez F-223 hasn’t reported for Watcher duty. W-w-we’ve made several attempts to contact him at his home with no luck.”

“Oh, jeez, that’s terrible, sir.” Fiver feigned a worried look, hoping that it was passable.

“No matter, we’re already bringing on a new guy to replace him. Rick G-something, I can’t even keep track of them anymore. Th-th-they are, for the most part, useless.” White took a long drag on his cigar.

“Wh-what if something happened to him?”

“What does it matter? They – the corporation will just higher another Rick and another and another. This…this goddamn corporation – fucking cesspool-” White stopped himself before going too far.

“A-are you sure there’s nothing bothering you?”

White took down the last of his brandy and got up. He rounded the desk in a few easy strides to stand before Fiver.

He touched his cheek softly, letting his thumb tease the upper part of his cheek bone. Fiver didn’t pull away; he never did when White touched him. It was a familiarity they’d built up a few years ago, when White found him at that dance club.

‘Hardest working Morty in the place’ was what he said, when he paid for the backroom treatment. Just a dance, he was warned. Touching wasn’t allowed, patrons were just there for the dance but Fiver, down on his luck as he was, would have done anything to pay his rent. And he did. He never liked to think about the lengths he’d go to keep the lights on but that’s how consumerism worked. You have to pay to play and White paid a hefty sum for what Fiver did.

White came back the next day and the next. Fiver hated seeing him at first but loved to see the stack of bills he’d give him before each private dance. White would finish pretty quickly and they’d spend the rest of the time talking, giving Fiver a much needed rest.

Finally, White couldn’t bear to hear the sad story of an abandoned Morty trying to make it on the Citadel. He brought him to the Gr-augh-and Hotel and put him to work at the counter where he could see him every day.

“I –augh- tried to get them to consider you for the position. I ah even wrote a very long email stating your work habits and – and credentials. They said I was growing senile. That it was t-t-to important of a job for a fucking Morty.”

Fiver kissed the palm of White’s hand, the warm scent of the cigar lingering there. It was cold comfort, a mix of a haunting reminder of his days in the club but there was also the kindness White showed him.

“I’m s-s-sorry, sir.”

“What do I care? I-I will just keep doing my job and nothing will ever change.” White pulled Fiver into a hug.

Fiver could feel that the close quarters and the tender moment set White in a wanting mood. He didn’t want to do anything about it but this was the man that rescued him from a life that was barely a step up from servitude. He put in a good word for him to get a promotion even if it didn’t pan out, he still felt obligated to show his respect.

“If you want, I-”

“I-I never thought you’d ask.” His tone changed almost instantly.

White quickly closed and locked the door. Fiver felt sick to his stomach and was beginning to regret the offer but it was too late now. Ten, twenty minutes tops and he’d have repaid his kindness to White. He had toothpaste and toothbrush in drawer at the counter that would get rid of the taste. The prospect of the big payoff at the end of the week would help keep his mind off of the rest.

***

After arriving late for his shift for obvious reason, Fiver stood at the front counter faithfully. From the beginning of his shift until about eleven; he was kept busy with people checking out of the hotel. People calling to say they’re staying another night and a general slew of requests, questions, and other things from customers to fill their needs.

During the down time, he cleaned up the shelves and dusted the main lounge. It wasn’t his job but he liked to keep busy. With his mind whirling from the events of the morning and stuff coming up. It helped calm his otherwise torrential mind.

He was stepping around the desk when he saw Braces crossing the lounge with two heavy looking suitcases. Quickly, he logged into the computer and started filling a check-in form for the rooms requested the other night. Braces leaned on the counter with a maintenance fill out form. He tapped the end of his pen on the marble counter and prepared to write.

“So are there any reports of items in the rooms that need repaired or replaced.” He shot Fiver a glance over the rims of his glasses.

“Oh ah – yeah,” He chuckled nervously. “Y-y-you see, bud, the people in rooms 224, 225, and 226 h-have been – they complained about knocking pipes when they take a shower or use the sinks.”

“Oh jeez, that’s bad, I-I-I’ll have to check that out as soon as I get a sign off.” Braces said.

Fiver tensed up as he heard White step out of the backroom. He seemed jovial, with a smile on his otherwise angular face. He stopped at the counter and regarded Fiver with a nod, while glaring at Braces.

“M-ugh-intenance forms? Couldn’t you have just s-sent them over?” White looked at the sheet.

“Oh jeez, I wish it w-w-was that easy. Apparently some stuff been going on lately. We’re having c-c – troubles with our computers. Last night the s-service elevator was on the frits. So I thought I’d – ah stop around and ask if anyone had anything to report.”

White rolled his eyes. “It seems woefully inefficient.”

Braces didn’t look up from what he was writing down. “I-I couldn’t agree more. I’m gonna be working late, that’s for sure.”

White shook his head. “Can’t b-be helped I –augh- suppose.”

“Sir,” Fiver turned to White. “Maybe you c-can help him out. You wanna sign off on this maintenance order for him, so he doesn’t have – so he ain’t gotta go back down to the maintenance director to get it signed?”

White arched one half of his unibrow and turned to look at Fiver. As he should, Fiver instantly thought. Asking one Rick to sign off for another one was a terminal offense on any floor of the hotel. Even Braces ground his teeth to keep his mouth from gaping. It was a brazen way to achieve his part of the plan.

“That’s ah rather thoughtful, Morty.” He cleared his throat.

Fiver looked up at him, his eyebrows arching submissively as he slipped his hat from his head. His eyes sparkled impossibly bright with the low light in the room. He even licked his lips as if the request had left him parched.

Braces couldn’t believe it. It was as if Fiver morphed from a scrawny hick Morty, to a beautiful siren calling to his Rick. And the Rick was more than swayed. He even thought that he saw this Rick teeter on the brink crashing into the rocky cliff.

White smiled; a strange endearing smile and plucked the pen from Braces finger. In a flourish he wrote his name and dimension code in a beautiful swooping signature that was indicative to him and his dimension only.

“There you go, Morty, a-ugh-nything to help.”

Fiver slipped his hat back on, pulling the brim down over his eyes in a seductive move that even gave Braces pause in his own sexuality. It didn’t help that his smile was as innocent and cute as any Anime girl, he’d ever seen.

“T-thank you, sir.” Braces uttered but didn’t look away from Fiver.

White nodded in acknowledgement before returning to his office. With him gone, Fiver flicked the brim of his hat, knocking it back from his eyes. He gave Braces and easy smile with half lidded eyes.

“W-w-what the fuck – what did you just do there? That was – what was that?” Braces fought to keep his voice quest.

“I told ya, bud. You’re the brains and I’m the handsome one.” He chuckled, doing nothing to hide his blush.

“I guess f-f-fucking so.” Braces shook his head. “I – I can’t even begin to tell you what’s running through my mind r-r-right now.”

“Heh,” He gave an aw-shucks smile. “Happens a lot.”

 Braces took his forms and shook his head. “Oh jeez, you got me all confused and I-I-I don’t even care.”

Fiver rounded the counter, laughing an easy laugh that only added to his charm. As they’d discussed, he retrieved the two bags and started towards the row of elevators. Braces followed along. Each of them spared a glance back and forth between them.

“Riding up with me?” Fiver said, as he elbowed the up button.

“Excuse me?” Braces blushed.

“Y-y-you riding up with me?”

“Oh ah yeah. Sorry, I thought you said something else.”

Fiver smirked and winked at him. “Get it t-together, Brains, we need the head on your shoulders in the game, here.”

The comment only made him blush more. “I’ll – ah – I’ll take the next one.”

“Seems like a smart idea, chief.”

Fiver stepped into the elevator and pressed the number 22 button. They stared at each other for the entire length of time it took for the doors to close and just like that, the magic spell ended and he seemed to be free of it once again.

“W-w-what the hell was that all about?” Braces sighed as he walked to the stairwell. 

***

That night, Braces was looking over the diagram that he’d drawn on the table, glad to see that things were underway. Last he heard, Slim was on top of marking the correct bags with the scrambling stickers. Starting tomorrow, he’d have to set up their base of operation in those rooms being ‘repaired’. Though tomorrow, he’d have to draw up a contract and an acquisition form first. It’ll be tricky-

“Hey, w-workaholic, are you going to call it soon?” Tails asked.

She leaned against his back, wrapping an arm around him offering him a soda. He took it and cracked it open before turning to face her.

“Yep, just going over the fine – brass – minutia of tomorrow’s schedule.” He leaned against the table.

“Any problems?” She clinked her bottle with his.

“Just the contract and acquisition order. I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to lose Boss in the all the jargon. The guy’s pretty simple – I-I mean I could do his job with no problems.”

“Good.” Tails worried the lip of her bottle with her finger.

“How’s the new watcher?”

“Fine, I su-suppose, he doesn’t give a shit about the job, so he’s like any other Rick.” She said.

“Well, that’s good.”

Tails cocked her head in a questioning fashion as he sipped his soda.

She said. “I talked to Fiver today.”

“Oh?”

“I have to a-ask you something. Please d-don’t get mad.”

Braces already felt the veins in his neck tense even before she said anything. She’s going to ask his permission for them to date. He just knew it.

“Y-you said you’re interested in me, right?”

“Yeah?” Braces cocked an eyebrow at her.

“You do understand I identify as a girl, right?” She licked her lips nervously.

“Yeah – what? Why are w-we even talking about this? I-I’ve never seen you any other way.” His nervous stutter sent him rambling.

“It’s just I – you were looking at him in a very…you know.” She stammered along with him.

You asshole! His mind cursed him. She thinks you’re gay. He stood with his mouth gaped, looking at her as if she sprouted a third eye or something. Tails cleared her throat and stepped close to him.

“I-I-I – Let me try something.”

Tails swooped in close and pressed her lips to his. It was a soft kiss but passionate none the less. Her mouth slightly parted and luring him to deepen the kiss but strangely, he felt no drive. He didn’t take the bait. Instead, he pushed back clumsily and before too long she parted and stared into his eyes.

“I – it’s – I-I-”

She was struggling to get her words out but he was already well aware of what she was going to say.

“I didn’t feel anything either.”

Tails pulled back and hugged her body. “Yeah, what does it mean though?”

“I don’t know but – I don’t think it needs to change anything between us.”

Braces took her hand and pulled her into a hug. She smelled good but in a different way. It was a familiar smell of safety and security. Maybe it had something to do with the talk they had in the shower or how she reacted to behind approached in a sexual way. Maybe he just realized that having Tails as a friend was a much more beautiful thing to be a part of that pushing it into something that wouldn’t work.

“I-I-I’ve got a really big favor to ask you.” She sighed.

“Nope, sorry, y-y-you’re - only one favor a night. You’ll have to send in a request form for another one.” He chuckled.

She blinked at him. It took that long for her to realize he was joking and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t work up a laugh. He could tell something was bothering her so he gave her a gentle nudge.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?”

She looked incredibly vulnerable now as if he gave her a judging look, even though his face remained the same.

“After yesterday, I – I can’t close my eyes without thinking about what happened and I can’t seem to find peace. It maybe that I-”

Braces nodded. “S-sure.”

“R-really? I promise I won’t hog the covers.”

 Braces chuckled. “Its fine, I’ll sleep on the inside that way you have complete control over the bed.”

Tails hugged him tightly. “You’re too good to me.”

“What are friends for?” He buried his face in her neck.


	8. Wednesday

Braces reached the hotel early. The last shift of the day was winding down and preparing to leave. He recognized some of them but only by the fact that they were Mortys. He was sure each of them had problems of their own or things that made them unique but he’d never taken an interest in getting to know them. Not because he was a dick or didn’t care but because he had so little time away from this place and so much resentment that he couldn’t stand to stick around longer than he had to.

No one paid him any mind as he slipped by the front desk and into an open elevator. He rode it down to the maintenance offices, hating every second that ticked by. It felt as if his soul was being sucked from his body, leaving him a husk. And when it was done the elevator spit him out into his own personal hell.

Luckily the metal detector was deactivated as it usually was this early in the morning. It was a slight saving grace in an already frustrating day that was only going to get worse. He just knew it.

“Hey, p-eugh-oindexter! A little early aren’t you?”

One of the Ricks in the security booth called out to him. His voice sounding tinny as it came through the small speaker. There was something animatronic about the sound that just grated on Brace’s nerves. He chose to ignore him and head straight for the security field. If he needed too, he could just override it and go one through.

He was always a bit prickly when he came into work but today, he really felt as though he were reaching a breaking point. The closer they got to Friday, the more he felt that they were going to succeed and if that happened, this place could just burn.

“I’m talking to you, Morty!” The other Rick, with the pencil thin beard, yelled at him. “What are you doing here?”

“I-I-I – listen here fuckstains – if you must know, I-”

“What the fuck di-did you call me, you filthy turd.”

The first Rick, the one with frosted faux hawk was coming out of the booth in a huff and though he towered over Braces, he wouldn’t allow himself to be intimidated, which, in hindsight, might have been an oversight.

Faux Hawk grabbed Braces by the collar, popping the top button and tearing the seam on his tie. With a surprising amount of strength, he picked him up from the ground and held him close the security field. The light beams buzzed like a stirred up hornet’s nest and just as deadly. Braces grabbed the Rick’s arm and tried to wrench himself free but only got a closer look at the beams. Close enough to sear a hole in one of the wrinkles at his shoulder.

“G-g-good morning, Braces!”

Blue came around the corner, a goofy smile on his face. When Faux Hawk saw him, he pulled Braces away from the beam and dropped him on the floor in a heap. Braces got to his feet and patted his shoulder as if it might still be smoldering.

Faux Hawk smirked. “Well, if it isn’t th-eugh retard. Is it me or a-a-are all the losers coming in early.”

“This coming from the g-guard breaking protocol by leaving the security booth.” Blue kept a calm façade, his hand rested on the blaster at his hip.

 “S-eugh-curtiy emergency?” His eyes narrowed.

“A Morty doing his j-j-job is a security emergency?” Blue stated. “Then-then why aren’t you hassling th-the rest of the Mortys in the hotel?”

“Trust me, I would if I could.” He cackled.

Blue smiled, his eyes looked glassy but Braces saw cleverness deep within the steely blue one. He straightened the collar of his pressed button-up shirt beneath his security jacket. There were three silver pips and a black one all in a straight line on his jacket’s right lapel. Without a word, Faux Hawk straightened up and nodded.

It was only then that Braces saw the one silver and one black stud on Faux Hawk’s jacket lapel. There was some form a hierarchy struggle going on that Braces didn’t even knew existed between the security staff. Which made sense; he wasn’t security so he’d not be privy to that kind of information.

Faux Hawk returned to the booth and lowered the security field. Blue beckoned for Braces to go first before following him past the checkpoint. Braces adjusted his collar, feeling his tie snap away when he did so. In a frustrated rush, he tore it away and shoved it in his pocket.

“Are you alright?” Blue asked.

“W-w-what happened back – what was that?” Braces’ face was red and burning hot.

“I outrank them. Th-they have to bow to a superior officer or risk f-fines, maybe even jail time.” Blue gave an easy smile.

“Wow, so jeez, you’re like so-some kind of badass.”

“Not likely, I’ve j-just been here for a long time.” Blue snickered.

Braces thanked him and shook his hand before entering Boss’s office. Blue faithfully stood at his post next to the door and waited like he always did.

Once inside, Braces went to work on filling out the fake acquisition and contractor forms, making sure to set them up so they were the first thing Boss would see when he came in. He also took the liberty of swiping five blank door cards for the rooms he requested. He tucked them away in his pocket. He gathered a few more documents he was going to need for the rest of the day before stepping out into the hall.

As he rounded the corner, he saw Blue coming back from the entrance hall wiping his hands on a handkerchief. Braces raised an eyebrow. Blue had just been standing by the door. How long had he been in the office? As they passed each other, he knew he must have been wearing a funny look on his face because Blue made an offhand comment.

“I forgot to go to the b-bathroom before clocking in.”

“H-h-happens to the best of us, man.” Braces shrugged not knowing what else to say.

Braces stopped at the security field and looked at the booth. He waved to get the attention of one of the Ricks inside. Except, this time when he got a closer look; he noticed the booth was empty. Braces furrowed his brow and dug his phone out. With a quick swipe and a flick, the field dropped and he walked through before reactivating it.

“Where the hell did t-those jackasses go?” Braces mumbled to no one in particular.

No matter where they got off too, it wasn’t his job to figure it out. He had other stuff he had to take care of before too many people started asking questions about his fudged numbers and forged sheets. 

***

Setting up the whole operation in the room beneath the Watcher’s outpost didn’t take that long. With the laptop he could now receive and send messages to everyone’s cellphone. The messages will be instantly erased after a certain amount of time passed. He was also able to monitor everyone’s whereabouts once they were in the hotel. If anyone got into trouble, he’d be able to hear it and locate them with no problem.

The next thing he had to do was program the five cards and the door locks so that they were the only ones that’d be able to get into the rooms. Again, it wasn’t a difficult process but there was some precision required, since they were manufactured to only keep two cards programed at a time. Any more than that would lock out the additional cards. Braces was able to bypass it by programming a code into the main core of the lock itself. They’d never function properly after this but at this point he couldn’t care less.

“Alright,” Braces whispered to himself. “Computer; check, bags; check, and the cards are all set, e-excellent.”

He pushed the button on his earpiece. “Checking in.”

“Whoa!” Slim gasped. “Scared the shit outta me, man!”

“Are w-we all set up?” Tails asked.

“Whew doggie! Good going man,” Fiver laughed. “It’s all spy gamey and shit now.”

Brace waited a moment. “Two Ton?”

“Morty Jesus? Is that you?”

Braces pinched the bridge of his nose, skewing his glasses. “W-w-what - no, it’s-“

“Heh, got you!” Two Ton laughed.

Soon everyone else joined in with him leaving Braces flushed in the face. In the end, it might have been a good joke but Braces never liked jokes being made at his expense.

“I’m glad that everyone was there for that.” Braces huffed. “If anyone needs anything, let me know.”

“Aw bud, don’t be pissy. We all still love you!”

When everyone joined in on the praising him, Braces was starting to wonder if he made the wrong decision. He’d be lying if he said it didn’t make him feel a little better inside though, even if it was by just a little.

At that moment, his phone started ringing. The LED screen alerted him that Boss was calling, which wasn’t unheard of but he had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be the best phone call. He hushed everyone before answering.

“Hello?”

He switched it over to speaker phone and set it down on the desk next to him. The coarse voice grated through the speaker as if someone poured a bag of gravel into a dryer and turned it on.

“Morty! Get your ass to my office ASAP, that means now, you fucking p –urp-trid turd.”

Boss slammed his phone down so hard that it caused the speaker in his phone to crackle. Braces took a deep breath and picked up his phone with a shaky hand.

“Shit!” Fiver said.

“It was good while it lasted.” Tails sighed.

“Don’t worry, Chrome, you give us the signal and we’ll be there.” Slim chimed in; he couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice.

“Nah, y-y-you guys, it’ll be fine. We’re already into this pretty deep, I-I’m not stopping – until we get paid.”

Braces got up and left the room, locking it behind him. Whatever was about to happen, had no bearing on their success? Even if he got fired, he could still help operate the heist from home now that they were all connected. He stepped into the elevator took a deep breath and furrowed his brow.

“L-l-let’s get this over with.”

***

Getting past security was yet another hassle. It always seemed the case when Lazy-Eye and Exuberant were running the show.

First of all, the metal detector kept blipping on his braces like they always did whenever those two were on duty. The security grid was up, making passing by safely almost impossible and Blue was nowhere in sight to help out.

“Hey look, i-its Blue’s f-eugh-ck buddy! Hey, do you ever get his pubes stuck in your braces?” Exuberant chided.

“C-c-can you just let me in, you f-fucking assholes.” Braces gritted his teeth. “Boss asked to see me.”

“W-eugh-ll I figure if we keep you out her long enough you’ll end up-”

“You two dick-br-eugh-thed cock suckers, let him in now before I bury the both of you!” Boss’s voice echoed so loudly it whined in the speaker.

Both Ricks looked at each other and quickly lowered field, so Braces could get by. He knew they were watching him with their shit eating grins. Thanks to the Boss’s interjection, Braces was sure this was going to be a terrible meeting.


	9. Enough

When Braces entered the office, Boss was standing behind the desk with a stack of forms in his hands. He flipped to one and then flipped back to the first as if there might be some evidence on one that might clarify the other but there was nothing. Braces left nothing to chance and made them as vague as possible without making them sloppy or out of the ordinary. Still, Boss was onto something or else he wouldn’t have called him in.

“What the fuck – these forms make no sense. Y-yo-you’re calling – you expect me to sign off on y-eugh-u calling in insider help to fix the pipes in three deluxe rooms.” Boss slammed the papers down on the desk.

“Well – I – jeez, I know you think this is a b-bad idea but obviously the problem is ei-either old faucets or faulty valves. Th-the work could easily be done at a standard h-hourly wage of a regular Morty.” Braces explained.

Boss’s face when flat and he stared deeply into Braces’ eyes as if the words ‘hourly wage’ were bewitching in a way. He was surprised that Boss was willing to listen to him explain the situation fully before exploding on him.

“If-if you think about how m-much it would cost to bring a company out here to do it. You have to p-pay a deposit, than a triple hourly rate of three or four certified Morty’s to come in and d-di-dick – and fuck around for three to four days just to make money.”

Boss nodded, completely entranced by the breakdown.

“But if-if-if you follow the guidelines –I, like, described. I can oversee it, personally and-and-and have it done by Friday.”

Boss opened his mouth to say something before leaning on the desk to look over the worksheets again.

“Y-you could have w-wrote that all down!” Boss snapped.

“A-an-and waste even more fucking time on this than I already have?”

Braces could hear an audible gasp from two or three of the others in his earpiece. It set his mind wondering why he’d had such an adverse reaction to Boss’s ribbing. It seemed as though he’d already convinced Boss to see things his way and now he may have fucked the situation.

“W-w-what the fuck did you say to me, you fucking piece of shit.”

Boss lurched across the table and slapped him as hard as he could. Braces fell back against the file cabinets behind him. He felt his head hit one of the handles as he slid down to sit on the floor. Blood filled his mouth from where the inside of his cheek was shredded on his braces.

“You f-fucking shit stain,” Boss grumbled. “You’ve been getting t-too big for your britches for far t-too long.”

Boss didn’t stop there; he rounded the desk and gripped him by his curls. He pulled him to his feet, only to slap him back down again. Blood spattered the front of Boss’s shirt and pants before falling in a line down the front of Braces’ white shirt.

“I was-was about to overlook you f-forging my goddamn name but no!” Boss bent down over him, yelling his stink breath in is face like a cloud of toxicity. “You had to-to-to keep pushing, you stupid shit.”

Braces pushed up from the floor and banged the top of his head against Boss’ chin. The tall stick of a man flailed back into his desk, struggling to regain his balance. Braces growled through gritted and bloodied teething, sending another ribbon of blood trickling down his shirt.

“Y-y-you worthless fucking shit bag! I-if it wasn’t for me, this department would have failed ten-ten times over. So – so if you want to fire me, just do it. I-I-I’d love to watch you fucking struggle to do what I-I do.”

Braces adjusted his collar and smoothed his shirt down, smearing his blood even more.

“N-now if you don’t mind,” Braces squeaked. “I have to g-go out there and make you not look fu-fucking useless.”

Braces headed for the door slamming it behind him as he left. It only took a second longer for him to hear Boss throw it back open again. The sound of his flat-soled shoes slapped the tiled floor behind him and gaining fast. The closer he got, the more Braces could hear the sound of his drunken grumble slurred in his drool filled mouth, like a beast getting ready to strike.

Whatever he was saying was lost in a storm of expletive and cursing, clashed with the sound of Braces’ thundering heart. What he did know was the voice was getting closer and closer. He expected Boss to fall on him at any moment with another flurry of slaps, or worse.

In his quick escape, Braces deactivated the security field, making a beeline straight for it. Then everything snapped. One split second decision in a shit show of already bad decisions, he’d made. He flicked something on his phone and heard the buzzing beams ignite behind him, anything to put distance between he and Boss.

Unfortunately, Boss didn’t stop, no; he passed through the field, taking a few more steps. Braces watched as it happened in a very slow and animated way. Boss continued to follow him, his legs crumbled into scorched meaty chunks until he collapsed into a pile of cloth scraps and bloodless meat cubes. Braces covered his mouth choking on a cocktail of tears and bile that assaulted him.

Lazy-Eye and Exuberant were fumbling over themselves as they fell out of the booth, their blasters pointed at Braces. The situation was beyond unfuckable now and what had started as a possible firing was now straight up manslaughter with witnesses.

“What-what-”

“You fucking shit stain, hands up or I will drill you.” Lazy-Eye barked.

“Do you t-think he’s alright?” Exuberant was starting to break down mentally.

“What, are-are you fucking kidding me, Rick! He’s a goddamn pile of Spam! You’re seeing the same s-shit, right?” Lazy-Eye was screaming to the point of incoherency.

In the calamity, they’d missed the sound of the elevator dinging and the cool sound off footfall moving up behind them. Blue stepped around and drew his blaster aiming it at Braces in a very smooth motion.

“Whoa! What happened?”

Blue looked to the meat pile then towards the other two Ricks who were barely holding it together.

“This fucking – he killed him. Just – we saw the whole thing.” Exuberant rattled on, his whole body shaking as if he were coming down from an extremely powerful drug trip.

“It looks like an accident to me.” Blue cocked his head. “Those energy fields are pretty tricky.”

“A-ar-are you fucking kidding me with that shit? He-he-he straight up killed – he straight up murdered a Rick and-and you’re just gonna stand th-there and say it was an accident?” Lazy-Eye barked and aimed his blaster at Blue.

“Maybe h-he had it coming.”

Braces looked at Blue who offered a wink. Lazy-Eye’s eyes went wide as he reeved up to say something but couldn’t because the blaster charge passed into his mouth and through the top of his head. The force of the shot pushed him back against the window of the security box before tumbling him to the floor. Exuberant tried to aim his own blaster but was far too slow and ended up with a gut full of short range blasts from Blue’s weapon. He flopped down on top of Lazy-Eye before settling into a convulsing mass.

Braces stared at Blue; his pants were warm, soaking through with urine as it trickled down his legs. His knees trembling, barely able to support him but he was too afraid to even fall over. Blue gave him a soft smile and leaned down to take the downed Ricks’ blasters, flipping the safety on before holding them out to Braces.

“Y-You won’t be able to use these until you recode them and-and sand off the serial numbers, but there still good.” His voice was oddly calm, in a creepy manner.

The elevator opened again, Tails and Slim hurried in to see the scene for themselves. Braces’ moved to meet them. Tails pulled him into a hug first, worrying over the blood running out of the corner of his mouth. Slim was next, he unabashedly hugged Braces. When the side of his head touched Braces’ cheek, he winced away.

“Oh man, your cheek’s all fucked up.” He muttered.

It was then, that they noticed Blue turned his blaster on them. They immediately raised their hands in surrender.

“I forgot to lock down the elevator.” Blue mumbled to himself.

“It’s alright, th-they’re with me.” Braces slid between them.

 “Oh,” He huffed and lowered his gun. “Some on, we have to clean up this mess.”

Slim and Tails didn’t argue. They walked around the two downed Ricks, only to be stop by the sight of the third Rick scattered in chunks on the floor.

“Oh jeez, I-” Tails closed her eyes and turned away.

“F-f-for fuck sake, I’ve seen some shit man, but I ain’t ever seen anything like that.” Slim couldn’t look away.

Blue smirked. “You’re a bunch of amateurs.”

He pulled a small chrome device from inside his jacket. It glowed with an eerie radiant green color. He aimed it at the wall and pulled the trigger. A strange swirling green vortex opened into the world.

“A fucking portal gun?!” Slim gasped.

“H-How do you have a portal gun, Blue?” Braces looked at him.

“I had – it was – I made it back before…” He pointed to the scar on his head. “I found it a few months ago in a compartment under my bed.”

He gestured toward the two Ricks crumbled together before taking Lazy-Eye’s legs. Tails grabbed his arms and they hefted him towards the portal before casually throwing him through.

“Where does it go?” Braces asked, watching as they disposed of the body.

“No more questions, Chrome, help out.” Slim grunted, dragging Exuberant by his upper body.

Braces looked down at the blasters he was still holding. Tails plucked one from him before tucked it away. It was cumbersome but, disappeared beneath the puffy folds of her skirt. Slim took the other one, tucking it in his belt before dragging the other Rick towards the portal. Braces helped throw him into the unknown.

Blue shoveled chunks of Boss into a garbage can, while Slim sopped up the piss with a shirt he found in the security booth. Tails helps clean up Braces’ lips and face. His pants were piss soaked and his shirt was fucked. It was going to pose a problem pretty soon but getting the other things in order was more important.

One by one, Blue dumped four garbage cans worth of Boss through the portal before deactivating it.

“I’ll be able to fix the issue of the missing security guards.” Blue admitted.

“I-I’ll take-”

“Is everything alright, y’all.” Fiver chimed in through the ear piece finally.

“There you are, thought the cattle broke free and you were out chasing them down.” Slim laughed.

“Close,” Fiver chuckled. “We got a bus. Thirty-seven old ass aliens that don’t like Morty’s but at all. Seriously though, you alright, Braces?”

“Yeah, for now at least.” Braces sighed; he was struggling to think clearly.

“What happened?”

“I’ll f-fill you in later.” Tails whispered. “Fiver, do you have a spare set of clothes Braces can use?”

“No, but I think I can get ya some from l-l-lost and found.”

“Good,” Slim barked. “Do you have a minute to come down to maintenance?”

“Yeah, gimme a second, I’ll be right there.”

“Braces?” Tails touched his arm.

He jumped, his eyes wild as he looked at her. “I – I’ve gotta – I’ll have to find a way to cover for Boss.”

“If anyone can do it, Chrome, it’s you.” Slim gripped his shoulder affectionately.

“I just need time.”

Braces turned and started wandering towards Boss’ office almost stepping into the security field. He laughed almost manically but with a hint of desperation. Blue pursed his lips and pulled Braces into a hug.

“Take a deep breath,” His voice was soft and soothing. “You didn’t do anything he didn’t deserve.”

Braces opened his mouth to speak but broke down into sobs. Blue held him close, rubbing his upper back gently. Slim looked at Tails, she was surprised to find tears misting in his eyes.

“You too.” She sniffled.

“Yeah, I-I-I just love you fucking pups so much, I don’t wanna see nothing to happen to ya.” He wiped his nose on his sleeve.

Fiver showed up with a brown pair of pants and a yellow t-shirt. Nothing glamorous but it would definitely fit Braces. When he rounded the corner, he slowed his pace to join Tails. He opened his mouth to say something but she rested a finger over her lips and shook her head. He nodded and watched Braces cry into the jacket of the overly tranquil Rick.

The minutes ticked away into what seemed like an eternity and Braces managed to stop crying. He wiped his eyes and looked up at Blue, who gave him an easy smile.

“Feeling better?”

“Yeah, th-thank you,” Braces sighed, the realization was evident on his face. “And thank you for helping.”

“Don’t worry about it, M-Braces. As I said, they all get what they deserve.” His tone was too ominous for Braces to question further.

“So, Stork, ya ain’t gonna say anything right?” Slim asked.

“About what, I didn’t see a thing.” Blue chuckled and stated down the hall towards Boss’ office.

Fiver walked up and handed the clothes to Braces. They exchanged a glance before he put his arm around him.

“You alright, bud?”

“I don’t know, I guess, I-I think so. I just.”

“I can imagine it’s hard.” Fiver sighed. “If you ever need anything, just let me know.”

“Let any of us know.” Tails added.

“I will; thanks.” Braces sighed before holding up the clothes Fiver brought. “I have to change and do something about Boss being MIA.”

“Remember,” Slim took his hand. “Anytime, anywhere, if you need anything, you let us know.”

There was something intense behind his eyes that really resonated with Braces as if no matter what, they’d be there for him. He squeezed Slim’s hand and nodded before they all slowly drifted their own way.

As Braces walked towards Boss’ office, he heard Blue talking on his phone in a rather gruff voice.

“Listen, I-I-I don’t know where you keep getting these dime – these rent-a-cops but this is a reputable business; w-w-we need Ricks who can handle a serious job…”

The rest of it was lost once Braces closed the door. The small office looked bigger all the sudden and more empty than he’d seen. It sent a cold feeling into his gut that only caused him anxiety to the point of trembling again. He’d killed a Rick, something that he never thought would ever happen and he was the one who did it. Even if he deserved it, even if Braces hated him, he didn’t deserve to die.

Suddenly, the realization of what Tails was going through became clear. Tears welled up in his eyes. As leaned back against the door sliding down to sit for another nice long cry.


	10. Under Pressure

Slim leaned against the wall next to the large window pane, looking out over the city. Millions of twinkling lights contending with even brighter heavenly bodies to light up the eternal darkness. Such romantic bullshit, Slim chided himself for thinking. Still, it was something Slick Rick always mentioned the stars while they floated through space, pretending to be garbage adrift until the law or other pursuers gave up the chase.

“Slim, that’s the thing about all them stars – e-each one is a different hope, a-a different adventure. Maybe, just maybe they could be a different future.” Slim mumbled in the same exact tone Slick used.

“W-what was that?”

Tails leaned against him, following his gaze to the rainbow of lights that spread throughout the city. He smirked at her and gave her a playful hip bump.

“Oh, just some sappy crap m-m-my grandpa Rick used to say.”

Slim pulled his wallet out and fished an old photo from the bill pocket and unfolded it so Tails could see. A tall Rick with slicked silver hair, sporting a thin mustache, and a steel blue button down leaned an elbow on Slim, who appeared to be just a bit younger than he was now. They were smiling at each other in a playful way; in a way she’d never seen a Rick and Morty act.

“He used to tell me about the stars all the time. He’d be like, S-Slim,” He made his voice deeper and more gravelly. “Them stars show us the infinite possibilities th-the cosmos offer us. Like this one here; this one meant that and that one means this. I didn’t care though; I just liked to listen to him talk.” A sad look came to his eyes. “I wish I would have paid more attention.”

Tails rubbed lightly between his shoulder blades. “He sounded like he only wanted the best for you.”

“Always! I remember that he’d snatch cigarettes right out of my-my mouth when I tried to smoke. He’d slap drinks out of my hand when I tried to take them. C-C-Christ, he - he damn near put my first condom on himself to keep me from catching anything.” Slim laughed the bittersweet laugh of fond memories never to be lived again.

“The last thing he told me was ‘After this, Slim, we’re goin’ legit. You and me; w-w-we’re gonna open that gentleman’s club and only let the finest in’. He was betrayed and m-murdered that night. But the fuckers made a big mistake; they let me live.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” Tails took his hand.

“Don’t be toots. My story only ended in tragedy, yours was born from it!” He affectionately smacked her cheek.

Tails stared at him for a long moment, her mouth hanging open. He folded the picture back up and tucked it away, very aware that she was staring at him. Whether she understood or needed clarification that was something she was going to have to work through. He gave her a wide smirk that shot her a glimmering gold eye tooth.

“If you’d excuse me toots, gotta take a leak.”

He set his drink down on the end table next to where Fiver was sitting. He shot him a sideways glance but went back to explaining calf roping to Two Ton, who was only half listening because he was too busy eating five layer dip with a spoon.

Slim noticed the door to the bathroom was closed but the light was on. Politely he knocked and heard a voice muffled from inside but couldn’t quite understand what was being said. The door was unlocked, so he invited himself in, closing it behind him.

Braces was leaning on the sink counter with his head hung. His glasses were sitting next to him on the counter. Tears ran down his nose, dripping into the sink. When Slim saw him, he quietly locked the door.

“Hey-hey Chrome, are you alright?”

Braces didn’t look up. “Please go away.” His voice slurred under the weight of his tears.

“I can’t do that, brother.” Slim sidled past.

“B-b-because you saw me c-crying and think you can help.”

“Not at all, Chrome, I gotta piss.” He said and lifted the toilet lid and went for his fly.

Braces didn’t say anything; he just covered his face with one hand. He was too sad to go anywhere else but too weak to cry in front of him.

When Slim was done, he zipped up and flushed. Keeping his eye trained on Braces. His shoulders quivered with the tears that he struggled to keep in but they were coming anyway. They dripped noisily into the sink.

Slim licked his lips. “The first time I killed someone-”

“Don’t!”

“I-I-I’m gonna talk, you don’t haveta listen.” Slim stepped close but Braces didn’t move.

“The first time I killed s-someone, I felt like the biggest monster ever,” Slim caressed a comforting hand up Braces’ back. “Slick fawned over me for days but I couldn’t shake the-the- this guilt I was feeling. So he dug up all the shit this guy did.”

“What did he do?”

Braces sniffled and looked up at him. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy beneath a pair of despairingly desperate eyebrows. Slim wiped the tears running down his cheeks before catching the ones gathering on his eyelashes.

“He raped ha-half a dozen high school girls and cut their tongues out so they couldn’t tell anyone. W-when he was brought up on charges – he bought his way out.” Slim took some toilet paper and wiped Braces’ nose.

“Th-that’s terrible.”

“That’s nothing; that fucker went after those girls again. He raped ‘em a second time and cut them into pieces. One of them was Summer’s best friend.”

Braces slipped his glasses on, hugging himself against the cold shiver that ran through him. “J-Jeezus.”

“That’s the only reason Slick got involved.” Slim crossed his arms and leaned against the counter in front of him. “He wouldn’t have involved me, if I wouldn’t have stowaway on his ship.”

“I-I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing to say, Chrome, that piece of shit died today because he was e-exactly that - a piece of shit.” Slim smirked. “If you want me to dig up all the terrible stuff he did to justify it, I’ll do it. But I’m here to tell you, you don’t need to justify it because he was shitty to you and got what he deserved.”

“I-I guess. I just don’t know if I can be like that.”

Slim touched Braces’ chest. “Then don’t be! Grieve for yourself, not him. He doesn’t deserve your beautiful tears.”

“I don’t-”

Slim leaned close and kissed his cheek tenderly. Braces pressed a hand to his chest and lightly pushed him away.

“I-I-I’m not like – we-”

“Like what? Gay? What does that matter? It’s just a three letter word.” He took his hands and kissed them softly. “You’ve been hiding in this bathroom, stressing over that hunk of shit for nothing. I just want to help ease your mind, even if it’s only for a few minutes.”

“I don’t know, w-w-what if I don’t like it.” Braces cleared his throat.

“Then just tell me,” Slim giggled. “I’m not gonna keep going. Have a little faith in me, Chrome, please.”

“I do.”

“You do?” Slim gave his lips a soft kiss. “Then I won’t disappoint you.”

Slim leaned in again, awkwardly trying to cradle his face to make the kiss more intimate. Their lips bumped together clumsily before Slim sealed the deal with his parted lips. Braces felt his face flush bright red, his heart thumping hard in his chest. He knew that Slim could feel it because his hand was resting over top of it, searching for it.

The kiss wasn’t awkward or empty like it had been with Tails. There’s been an excitement within it, something that lured Braces into a nervous comfort. Slim’s lips were soft and coaxed him to deepen the kiss. Braces followed his Pied Piper and caressed just the tip of his tongue along Slims. He tasted good, like Coca-Cola and cherry flavored gum.

Slim rewarded him with a surprised moan that brought his fingers down to the hem of Braces’ shirt, caressing up along his smooth belly. Braces snorted and giggled as he pulled away.

“Too much?” Slim asked.

“N-no, just ticklish.”

Slim chuckled, loosening his tie and unbuttoning his top button. To his surprise, Braces helped work the rest of his buttons with trembling hands. Slim held his hands out surrendering and they both giggled like kids on a playground.

“I-I don’t know if I can-”

“We’ll go as far as you’re comfortable with.” Slim gave him a peck on the lips.

Braces pushed Slim’s shirt open. He tossed the dangling tied over Slim’s shoulder, so he could get a better look. He ran his trembling hands along his smooth chest. Slim flexed playfully, surprising him with a few more defined muscles that disappeared beneath his softness. Braces smirked when he saw a small paw print tattoo, half hidden by the band of his pants.

“What can I say, I love dogs?” Slim said dismissively.

“I didn’t s-say anything.”

Slim winked at him and started pulling on the hem of his shirt. Braces held his arms up, letting him pull it up. He gripped Braces wrists and kept half of his face tangled in the collar of his shirt so just his nose and lips were free. He pressed their lips tightly, pinning him to the wall, exploring him deeply. He could feel Braces hard against his hip and the thundering of his heart.

He finally freed Braces from the shirt, while holding the kiss. Braces cradled his face, running a thumb along his chin down to his throat. Slim masterfully flicked Braces’ button on his pants and slipped a hand inside, feeling the puddle of precum on his palm almost immediately. Braces moaned into his mouth and shuddered at the feeling, only making another soft puddle take its place.

“Oh jeez,” Slim broke from the kiss and muttered.

He looked down at the glistening string that attached his belly to the tip of Braces’ cock. There was already so much pre, it was impossible to fathom how this happened so fast.

“I-ah-” Braces looked away.

“I should s-say so.” Slim giggled. “Do –do you want me to stop?”

Braces weighed the option. It was an important question to ask, one that he was trying to calm his head and think rationally. That’s when he heard a tiny voice in his head cautioning him about where rationality had got him in the past. He could over think this and end up disappointed or he could trust his friend and give into something that he desperately felt like he needed.

Both of them jolted when there was a soft knock at the door. Slim covered Braces’ mouth with his hand pushing against him tightly. Braces moaned as he smeared a fresh coat of pre along Slim’s belly.

“Hey, fella, not to rush you or nothing but some of us folks need to use the restroom. Just letting you know.” Fiver called through the door.

They stood pressed together for a long moment until they heard Fiver’s boots clacking away from the door. When they were sure he was gone, they broke down into a fit of desperate giggles. Slim wiped his stomach with his hand, still stunned by the shear amount.

“Not to rush, huh?” Slim snickered.

“Yeah, right.” Braces hugged his quivering body.

 “Let me help entice you to m-m-make a decision.” Slim bit his bottom lip.

He unbuttoned his pants, slipping them off his hip turning to lean on the counter. Braces caressed his hands along Slim’s hips and up the small of his back.

“Don’t be shy, this ain’t my first rodeo.” Slim wriggled his hips.

“If I’m not looking at your face, how will I know you’re enjoying it?” Braces asked.

Slim looked back over his shoulder at him. He let himself be turned around; helping Braces set him at the edge of the counter, slipping his pants all way off one of his legs. It was a ridiculous position but at least they could look at each other. Slim pulled him closer, jolting when he felt a bit of pressure against his sensitive area.

“Do you have any lube?” Slim asked before giving him a clumsy kiss.

“I-I – no I don’t – when would we use it?” Braces squirmed so his dick wasn’t bending awkwardly.

Slim huffed and spit into his hand before giving Braces’ cock a few lewd tugs. Another heavy spit he used on himself. Making sure to relax and get him as close to ready as he could. He took a deep breath and positioned him just right. He relaxed as much as he could before whispering to Braces.

“Now.”

Braces pushed harder than he meant too and Slim jolted with a slow groan that made Braces try to pull out but Slim gripped the small of his back and held him still.

“Don’t.”

“You’re y – I hurt you.”

“It’s fine.” Slim grunted and gave him a panted kiss on the cheek. “Might not be my first rodeo but it’s definitely been awhile.

“It’s my first.” Braces panted.

Slim looked him in the eyes and smiled. “I – ah – I don’t think I ever got to be someone’s first. I hope I’m-”

Braces kissed his lips in a clumsy desperation that was so endearing. Slim relaxed at the feeling of him shifting inside. He gently pushed against Braces hips with one hand; while his other hand pulled him back in, training his natural urge to hump to a controlled rhythm. Braces wouldn’t last long; no one ever did their first time. But Slim wanted to make his first time as meaningful as Slick had made his.

Slim felt Braces tremble harder, his legs quivering and threatening to give out. He wrapped his arms around him pulling him close in an intimate embrace. Slim calmed his body and mind to see if he could feel the special moment. In an essence, he did, he felt Braces’ breath hitch in his chest. The sharp shudder of his hips and the desperate shallow humps, he gave. It was the soft whisper of his name that pushed him to hold tighter to the nerdy little bastard.

Braces pushed his forehead against Slim’s, they were soaking wet with sweat and so much more, still Slim refused to let him go. He kissed his neck, then his cheek, then his lips. Braces couldn’t do anything but lean against him and the uncomfortable counter.

“Slim, if-if y’all fuckin’ around in there wh-while I’m fixin’ to burst, I gonna be pissed.”

Braces snorted and started laughing. Slim pulled his face into his chest and shushed him, while trying to battle his own fit of giggles.

“For fuck sake, hick, piss in the sink, we’re having a breakthrough in here.” Slim hollered back, his voice hitching on a laugh.

It would only buy them a few more moments at best but it was worth it, as long as they got to spend those moments together.


	11. Thursday

Braces watched the numbers crawl across the screen of his phone. One by one, the slew of numbers halted on one green digit until all twelve were solved. The blaster powered up for a few seconds while the coding light flashed and then it powered down again. He flipped the safety back on and held it out, handle first, to Tails. She took it and gave it a quick look over.

“Alright, I c-created a program that will recode the blasters processor every day for, like a month. After that, it-it’ll need to be destroyed.”

“Can’t you just recode it again, Chrome?” Slim asked.

Tails tucked hers in a pair of spandex bike shorts she’d worn just for this occasion. With the puffy maid skirt, the blaster disappeared beneath them. Slim tucked his in his belt at his back, pulling his shirt and vest down over top of it.

“I’m afraid not, a-a P276 blaster can only be r-recoded a couple dozen times before the processor fries. It’s a-a safety protocol.” Braces pushed his glasses up and rubbed his eyes.

“Wow, Braces, ya got me all turned on talking a-about them weapons.” Slim rubbed his shoulders.

“How do you know so much about blasters, chum?” Fiver asked, worrying away a toothpick.

“Google.” Braces said unceremoniously. “A-As long as you know where to look y-you can find anything.”

Braces pocketed his phone and looked back over the hastily drawn plans on a piece of paper. It was a dangerous move but luckily, his handwriting was such shit that anyone would think an eight year old was drawing a treasure map for him and his friends, playing pirates.

“Does e-e-everyone – do you all remember what they’re supposed to do tomorrow?” Braces looked around the room at each of them.

“Yeah, s-something about the elevator, right?” Two Ton said, stuffing another sandwich cookie in his mouth.

“Close, big guy.”

 Braces reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cylindrical item. It didn’t look any different than a polished led pipe. There was a shallow dark indent on the side and something that resembled half a marble stuck in the end of it.

“Alright, this is rigged with two D batteries and an energy condenser. Once you drop down from the sh-sh - the compartment above the elevator. Y-y-you touch this end to the guards and zap them. They’ll be out f-for a little while. You don’t have a lot of charge so don’t f-fuc – don’t miss.” Braces explained. “After that, stop the elevator and pry open the door. Tails and I will be there to get the bags from you.”

“I think I got it. I hide, attack, and hand off!”

“That’s right!” Fiver gave him a thumbs-up.

“Slim?”

“On it, babe, I’ve been marking them baggies with that little stamp thing. After that, I’ll head down to the laundry room.”

“Where you’ll meet me and Two Ton!” Fiver chimed in again.

Braces clapped his hand. “Right and that only leaves-”

“You and I’ll m-move the money from the bank bags into plain bags and drop them down the laundry chute to the boys.” Tails smirked.

“T-that’s when we load them into the van. Pull around and pick you up, then, like we head off to the pickup point in front of the hotel.” Fiver finished the plan.

“Which brings us to the final leg of our treasure hunt.” Slim snickered.

“I take it y-you were able to get – to arrange a transport off this rock?” Braces asked.

“Some old friends of Slick’s, they’re retired and in hiding from the popo. I offered them a heaping sum of money that I’ve been saving from my paychecks.”

“Are they trust worthy?” Fiver asked.

Slim scoffed. “What – I  ah…well– no but that’s why we have blasters. I-I-I’m sure Braces can Google how to fly a cruiser class ship if he has too.”

“I’ll start looking i-into it tonight.”

“See, problem solved.” Slim snickered.

Braces smiled at them excitedly. “God, I’m so p-p-proud of all of you. We – we – let’s make this fucking happen.”

“Braces, I think w-we should talk about the e-elephant in the room.” Tails took his hand.

Braces face grew dim as he looked at her and then at Slim.

“What’s she talkin’ about?” Fiver said pushing his bellhop hat back on his head.

“If-if-if any one of us is caught; we say nothing about the others.” Braces said coolly. “If any of us is caught, we walk away, dispose of the evidence and go on like you know n-nothing.”

“Well, shit, that’s ominous.” Fiver sighed.

“But it ain’t gonna happen.” Slim snapped. “This shit is air tight.”

Braces hugged Slim tightly. “Thanks for the c-confidence booster.”

“Anytime.” Slim kissed his lips.

There was an audible sound of surprise from everyone else in the room. Tails covered her mouth, her eyes the size of teacup saucers. Slim cleared his throat and leans away, both of their faces as red as Slim’s burgundy shirt.

“You missed m-m-y cheek.” Braces squeaked out.

“What’s a friend kiss between, ah friends, right?” Slim stepped away, rubbing the back of his neck.

“We should-”

“G-get back to work, yeah.”

Slim didn’t make eye contact with anyone before beating a hasty retreat from the room. Everyone just watched him go; leaving Braces to do some damage control. Tails wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. She didn’t say anything and he couldn’t think of anything she could have said. The hug was enough. In the back of his mind, he could almost feel as though she was relieved by this new development.

Two Ton was the first to make a move. He just mumbled something and slapped Braces on the back before leaving the room. Fiver stopped long enough to kiss Tails on one cheek and Braces on the other. He gave them both a wry smile.

“So sad, Braces, we were meant – it coulda been something special, sugar.” He teased.

His laugh followed him as he pulled the door closed. Tails and Braces both laughed before pulling away to look at each other.

“So, tomorrow, huh?”

Braces nodded. “Everything’s going t-to change tomorrow.”

“I’ll kind of m-miss the way we were.” Tails sighed softly, taking his hand.

“We can still live together. We-we’ll have money, we can just all move in together as one big Morty family.”

Braces watched as the lights came on in her head, with it, a smile crawled across her lips. It was a pretty smile, full of a youthful glow that had been robbed from her a long time ago. She started away, letting his hand linger in his.

“Dinner, o-o-on me.” She smiled softly.

“Sounds good.”

Braces sat on the edge of the bed and watched her go. Everything was in place and things were just beyond their reach now but that was going to change, for better or worse.

***

Everyone stayed the night at Tails and Braces apartment, though there was very little sleep gotten. They’d laid awake staring at the ceiling, suffering their own worries in silence. Braces nodded off around three o’clock only to lull into a series of quick paced fever dreams.

When he woke from the dreams, Slim was climbing onto the bunk with him. He didn’t say anything but Braces could see that he was plagued with the same kind of dreams. They gave each other a sleepy kiss before drifting into the blissful blackness of dreamless sleep


	12. Finally, Friday

The next morning was pandemonium as each of them fought to share the bathroom. Somehow by miracle, Tails assumed, they were all ready to go to the bus stop on time. None of them talked much. There wasn’t really anything to say. Things were going to go good or bad and then things were going to be different either way. When the bus pulled up to the casino, each of them went their separate ways as if nothing was going on.

***

Braces manned the base, so he could keep an eye on everyone. Slim was sitting in his booth, doing business as usual. Tails was just locking a room and onto the next one. Two Ton was taking a break by the coolers and Fiver was returning from dropping off bags at a room for some customers. It was business as usual and no one seemed to be the wiser.

Slim looked at his watch, the clock struck three. There was a red light on the wall above the emergency tunnels to the back vaults. It turned from red to green, meaning the bank car was just let into the lower garage. It was game time.

Slim touched the button on his communicator. “It’s here.”

Nonchalantly he set a ‘Next Window Please’ sign in front of his window and slipped out off of his stool. He was heading to do one final check the bags. He nearly ran into Banks as he rounded the counter but managed to roll to the side and slip by unnoticed. Suddenly the ballet lessons Slick signed him up for didn’t seem so stupid.

He kept low and out of sight as he went towards the vault.

At that exact moment, Tails was unloading the contents of her cart all over the floor in one of her rooms. She did, however keep one sheet to put the bags under so no one would see them. As she stepped out of the room, she and Braces fell in right beside each other and they kept walking on towards the bank of the elevators.

Two Ton had done a marvelous job pretending like he was sick and needed to go to the bathroom. No one would question Two Ton about his habits. If he was sick then he was sick, if he had to go to the bathroom well that was fine too.

He managed to get into the elevator before the bank guards at the bottom of the shaft called the elevator. It took some doing but he managed to scramble into the compartment above the elevator car. The mesh ceiling made it possible for him to see them and unless they knew what to look for, they couldn’t see him either.

A pair of guards stepped into the elevator. They were decked out in full Kevlar suits and packing high powered blasters on their hips. One even carried a close range blaster rifle that could turn a Morty inside out in a matter of seconds. Luckily, he had the –

There lying on the floor between the two guards was the small cylinder device that Braces gave him. It must have fallen out when he climbed up into the compartment.

***

When it was Fiver’s turn to activate, he looked at the ornamental clock on the wall right behind White. The Rick seemed to be very talkative and in good form all morning long. Fiver had barely been able to shake him and now that he needed to disappear, he was trapped. There was only one thing he could do. He pressed the button on the communicator to broadcast White’s ranting.

“Sh-shit!” Braces said, as he looked down at his phone.

The green Talk circle surrounding Fiver’s portrait was lit up and solid. He was no doubt accosted by White and needed a quick bailing out. Tails wasted no time; she pulled her phone out from her bra and dialed the front desk.

Fiver’s heart jumped to his throat and he answered the phone without thinking or giving White time to finish his thought. White pursed his lips embarrassedly and covered his mouth with a white gloved finger before slowly backing towards his office.

“H-hey, Tiger, need a l-lifeline.” Tails cooed softly. “I need some attention in room 2118.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Fiver’s voice almost quivered. “I’m terribly sorry, I’ll be right there.”

When he hung up the phone he started around the counter in a jaunt. White watched as he ran to the bank of elevators. Fiver spared a glance back and made awkward eye contact with him. For the first time since it all started, Fiver realized he was finally going to be free of White. As exciting as the thought was, a pang of guilt filled him up. His brow prickled with sweat. Could he really leave it this way? 

***

Slim slipped into the vault and rearranged some of the bags, making sure the five chosen ones were as close together as they could be, anything that would make the snatch and grab easier. By his calculations, the bank guards were already in the elevator and would be in the vault in a matter of minutes. So, if he was going to leave, now would be the time.

When he turned around, he stopped short at the sight of Banks filling the vault doorway. He was a Rick that looked happy next to never but for a moment, his graying face cracked a yellow teethed smile.

“What are you doing, y-y-you sleazy fucking Morty?” He said callously. “Sneaking away from your booth, that’s strike one, sneaking into the vault to fondle the money, that’s strike two. I just need one more strike to be rid of your sorry ass forever.”

“Banksy, you know y-y-you can’t fire me.”

Slim started rounding on him to make a break for the door.

“Oh, I already fulfilled the promise I m-m-made to that that that – fucking waste of life Rick of yours and I’ve been made to feel miserable for it ever since.” Banks laughed. “No my boy, once I pull this alarm you’re fucked ten ways until Sun-”

Slim didn’t let him finish his threat. The shot was clean; it went up through his chin and out the back of his head. His height gave him the perfect angle to make his death quick. Thanks to the sound dampeners in the vault, no one heard a thing. The unfortunate thing was, now he had a body and only about a minute to do something with it.

“Fuck, fuck, oh geez!”

Slim started rifling through Banks pocket, finding the master keycard. Once he had one piece of the puzzle, the rest of it fell into place.

Quickly, he dragged the body over to one of the security boxes for large deposits and to be honest, it was quite the trick but he managed to fold Banks at least twice to make him fit in the deposit box and it only required two kicks to close the door.

There wasn’t a moment to waste. The guards were coming in through the door at the back of the vault; he was slipping out the vault’s main door and on his way out of the money changing booth for the last time. 

***

Two Ton dropped down into the elevator. He fell to his knees under the weight of his muscles but it didn’t stop him from snatching up the device. Just then the doors opened and the two Rick guards stopped dead in their tracks. They looked at Two Ton for a second and he looked back at them for half a second. He managed to lurch forward and shove the device into the closest Rick’s gut, pushing the button.

There was a loud pop followed instantly by a hard push that threw the two of them away from each other. Two Ton hit the wall of the elevator with a crunch, while one Rick guard slammed into the other, sending them both flailing in a storm of limbs.

The air had been knocked from Two Ton but he knew he had to reach the other Rick before he recovered. He managed to get up, picking up the device again as he went. He took a few staggering steps before falling to his knees. He was within reaching distance and managed to tap the baton against the other Rick’s boot.

Two Ton pressed the button and heard the pop but nothing happened. The Rick guard sat up and kicked him in the mouth. The force threw him onto his back in the center of the elevator. Blood filled his mouth from the gash in his lip. He sputtered and spit a red shower up and onto his face.

It was then that a shadow fell over him and he looked up to see the guard Rick towering above with his blaster aimed at his face.

“Electric on rubber, Morty, really? Y-y-you really are a dumbass – you should have fucking stayed in school.”

Warm tears filled his eyes as his chest shuddered. Two Ton hadn’t cried since his Rick abandoned him on the Citadel so many years ago. Somehow it seemed fitting that a Rick would be the one to take him out. He covered his eyes, not wanting to see his impending doom coming. And then he heard the shot but felt nothing.

The guard Rick staggered forward against the back wall of the elevator. He wasn’t moving. Two Ton sat up, trying to figure out who did the shooting but his eyes were still crying making it impossible to reveal their identity. Instead, several of the bank bags fell in on him and soon he heard the soft ding of the elevator sending him up to some unknown floor.

***

Tails and Braces stood by, pacing around the row of elevators. They looked distraught and felt sick to their stomach. It was already one minute passed the time Two Ton should have called in.

“Two Ton, where are you?” Braces whispered into the communicator.

There was a long silence with nothing but dead air and Braces started to fear the worse.

“Just one more minute and we abort this thing.” Tails took his hand.

The elevator buzzer rang loudly in the empty hall. It startled both of them. Then, like a miracle, the gold platted doors started sliding open into the main of the shaft with only a little bit of the elevator showing from above.

“Here.”

Two Ton spoke, his word making more of a B sound as his bottom lip was all swollen. He started shoving bags through the small gap to them. They were both quick to catch them and load them into the cart with no problem. Tails threw the spare sheet over top of them, making them look like just a bundle of soiled linins.

“H-h-hit the - double tap the emergency button and head down laundry room. We’ll send the bags down to you as soon as we can.”

Braces turned away, following Tails into another elevator that would take them up to their base of operation. Two Ton did as he was told, relieved to have done his part as well as he could. Still, he was hungry and worried that his lip would get in the way of eating.

Braces and Tails made record time getting back to the room. They worked diligently to move the money from the bank bags to the everyday ones, making sure to separate out the dye packs, which was surprisingly easy. Once they were done, Braces got his phone and entered a code on it.

“What are – we have to go!” Tails said.

“I’m covering our tracks.”

He finished the code and the computer sitting on the desk started sparking and soon the wood caught too. Braces watched with wide eyes before chewing his thumbnail for a second.

“W-w-was it supposed to do that?”

“Nope, le-let’s go.”

They loaded the bags back into the cart and hurried to the chute. The fire alarm started blaring before they could get out of the room.

***

“What the fuck is that?”

Slim looked around at the high ceiling of the laundry room. There were vents and pipes exposed all over the place and a singular red box on the ceiling marked ‘Warning’. The noise seemed to be coming from it.

It was so loud, he almost missed that. ‘C-coming down!’ Warning through his ear piece.

Slim stepped away from the chute as the first bag hit the ground right where he’d been standing. He snatched it up and dropped it into the mesh linin cart he’d gathered earlier. Just as the second one dropped through. Two Ton stepped into the room.

“Just in time, Pudge, w-w-where’s Fiver?” Slim asked, dropping another bag in the cart.

Two Ton shrugged. “He’s n-not with you?” He mumbled around his fat lip.

“No! Shit? Y-y-ou didn’t see the truck?”

“No!”

Slim reached for his communicator and paused as the third bag fell through. Instead of calling it in, he scooped up the bag and dropped it in the cart. He wanted to run and try to get a laundry truck but couldn’t afford to leave this task to Two Ton. He also couldn’t distract Braces while he was sending the bags down.

“Fucking Fiver,” He said grimly. “W-w-we’ll just h-have to see how this shakes out.” He said grimly.

***

Tails sent the last bag down as the elevator near to them opened. A Rick with a pompadour sidled through the still opening door and froze when he saw the two Mortys hovering around the laundry chutes and an empty cart.

 “H-hey, what are y-eugh-u two doing there? Can’t you see there’s a fucking fire?” He belched and scratched his crotch.

“I was trying to-”

“He was helping me f-finish my work.” Tails cut it.

“Oh? T-try – you trying to get some of that puss, m-augh-n?” The Rick laughed grossly. “Get o-eugh-t of here before you burn up.”

Tails took Braces’ hand and they started for the stairwell across from the chute. The Rick watched them closely. Just then the other elevators opened and a few more Rick’s in firefighting attire stepped out into the hall.

“Wait!”

Tails heard a muffled call chasing after them but she didn’t wait around. She slammed the door leading to the stairway and ran down the stairs, Braces barely able to keep up with her.

***

Slim pushed the cart with the money bags into the garage. He’d hope to see the laundry van waiting but was disappointed. There were only a few options left and since he doubted Two Ton could drive; he was going to have to find them a vehicle.

“Hey – listen. Y-you’re going to have to wait here w-with the money. I’m gonna get us something to drive.”

Two Ton looked passed him and pointed to something. Slim cocked his head and looked into his vacant eyes before snapping his fingers wildly.

“Hey, hey, slow poke, what – w-w-what the fuck are you staring at?”

Just then, a gray laundry truck pulled around and stopped with the backend even with the cart. Slim felt his heart jump to his throat and started towards the driver door. He was going to yell at Fiver, then knock him out, and maybe even leave his ass for dead.

“What th-th-the fuck man? You scared the-”

The door opened and Slim stopped in his tracks.

“Who the fuck?”

***

Tails and Braces burst through the doors into the lobby. They were home free now. All they had to do was get out of the building, get into the laundry van, and make it to the transport that would take them all away from this life. Providing everyone did their parts, they were going to be rich very soon.

That was the last clear thought Braces mustered when he turned to see Fiver standing in the lobby talking to a very well dressed Rick that he only could identify as White. When Fiver saw them, his lips turned downward and he looked away.

“Y-y-you two, stop right there!” White growled.

The well-dressed Rick pointed at them, moving to block their way. The jig was up and they were both going down for sure.

White grabbed Braces collar and shook him hard enough to rattle his teeth. After everything he’d gone through, he wasn’t about to let this lone Rick stop him no matter how much Fiver divulged. There was still a chance they could get away.

Braces slapped White’s hand away and shoved him as hard as he could. Braces, who was lighter by far was the only one to fumble back. Fiver ran up to him and wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him away.

“Stop, man, I got this!” He whispered against Braces’ cheek.

He was shoved away too. Braces glared at him through furrowed eyebrows. That was when he heard the confused tone in White’s voice.

“D-don’t you dare treat him that way.”

The four of them stopped and looked back and forth at each other. Both Fiver and White seemed to be well aware of what was going on. While Braces and Tails were lost, unfortunately, not to be outdone, Tails was now holding a charged and ready blaster in White’s direction.

“I-Is this who you really want to be with, Morty?” White looked at Fiver desperately. “He-he he’s abusive. He pushed you, I saw it. And-and-and he hangs out with thugs. How could you fucking choose him over me?”

“Wait?” Tails muttered, lowering her gun.

“What’s he t-t-talking about?” Braces looked at Fiver.

“I-I told him everything. I told him th-that I love you and I wanna be with you for the rest of your life, dude.”

Fiver came to him and took his hand, giving him a convincing kiss on the lips. Braces blinked a few times, his mouth hanging open as if he were fighting for something to say. Then he saw Fiver wink and give him that beautiful smile.

“Oh geez, I-I’m sorry I shoved you. I was afraid of losing you.”

Braces’ voice stumbled at first but he soon hugged him, pulling him close. The sound of White’s sniffles brought everyone to look at him. He wiped his eyes on his pristine dress coat. He looked at Fiver longingly; it was the type of look that churned Tails’ stomach. It took every ounce of strength she had not to pull the trigger.

Everything seemed to be going so well. Fiver and Braces started making their way through the front lobby. Tails was tucking her gun away and White got his not so fairytale ending that he may not have wanted but at least he got.

“You think I-I-I’m going to give up so easily.” White growled.

Before Braces could make a move, he felt a solid kick to his back, sending him to the floor. Fiver was grabbed by his throat and hoisted a couple feet above the ground. Tails managed to get her blaster free again, only to be backhanded through the nearby glass table.

“I-I – you fucking piece of shit, Morty,” He yelled closing his hand around Fiver’s throat and squeezing. “I gave you everything and th-this is how you repay me! No! Y-you’re mine.”

Fiver fought to free himself. His hands clawed at White’s but he couldn’t loosen the hold. With every second that passed, he stepped closer to the abyss. His vision filled with blackness and then he heard the charged shot, felt the heat of a blaster bolt and the floor rushing up to meet him.

“C-Come on, Braces, g-get up! We have to go!”

He heard the voice of another Rick calling somewhere nearby. Fiver opened his eyes to see Braces grabbing at his arm. Tails had the other and he was being dragged somewhere. Everything was spinning, making it hard to see where he was and then, his vision stopped on White. The Rick that he owed so much too lay dead in the middle of the lobby. It was such a bittersweet sight. The man just about killed him and spent the better part of two years using him and now he was dead.

“White!” Fiver screamed; his voice scratch and pained with each cry that followed.

White kept getting smaller until he disappeared all-together in the darkness of the laundry van. Fiver closed his eyes and cried.


	13. For the Greater Good

Blue pushed down on the accelerator as they climbed the onramp onto the freeway. He managed to duck and weave the large truck through traffic with very little difficulty. It almost seemed like he’d done it before. Braces sat in the passenger’s seat looking at him in shock. Blue could feel his eyes on him, so he gave a simple smile.

“W-w-what are you – how did you know about all of this?” Braces asked.

Braces would be lying if he said he wasn’t suspicious. Unless someone talked, it was almost impossibility that anyone outside the five of them would have been able to figure out the plan, at least not enough to join in and bail them out at an inopportune moment.

“Well, Braces, wh-when you didn’t show up to work. I-I came looking for you.”

Blue dropped the van a gear and slid between two trucks before accelerating. Braces felt his face flush red with frustration. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Blue was deflecting his questions.

“Th-that doesn’t explain why you’re here!” He snapped.

“I-It’s not important, Chrome.” Slim said, leaning over the back of his seat to take his hand. “He-he saved Two Ton’s life, loaded the correct bags into the elevator, and bailed my ass out by b-bringing the van. He’s cool.”

“H-how far are we?” Tails asked.

She sat in the back, trying to comfort Fiver, who was on the verge of a complete breakdown. Two Ton sat on the other side of him doing what he can to keep help.

“Not far now!” Slim said. “You’re gonna want to get off, not this exit but the next one.” He told Blue before slipping back to join the others.

Braces wasn’t convinced but it didn’t seem like now was the time to argue the point. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to keep a close eye on Blue though.

Blue did as he was instructed, taking the exit at neck breaking speed. He slowed down and followed the apt signs marked for the cargo freight space port. It was in the shoddier part of Mortytown where even the cops wouldn’t go.

He angled the truck around and followed the yellow reflective lines to the entrance lane. The Rick in the security booth got up and stretched as he walked around to greet Blue. Slim slipped up to crouch behind his seat.

“I’ll tell you what to-”

Slim began to say but the Rick outside the window cut him off.

“Hey Blue, h-how are things?”

“Oh you-you – same shit different day. Hey I have a sp-special delivery can you let me pass?” Blue kept a really calm and friendly façade.

“Sure th-eugh-ing, bud. Go on through and if anyone asks. The cl-eugh-arance code is 4722.”

The security Rick stepped back and hit a button on his belt. The red and white arm slowly rose, giving them access to the back lot of the freight loading zone.

“Thanks a lot, Roiland!” Blue called back at the other Rick as he pulled through.

He eased the van along the proper lines marked on the ruddy look pavement. Braces was even more suspicious than he was before. Something churned in his guts, a warning or something. He wished now he’d sat in back so he could confer with his friends about what their next course of action.

“Almost there.” Blue mumbled.

He pulled the van up to an abandon loading/unloading zone and put it in park. He got out and rounded the van. Braces slipped into the back, trying to talk as quickly as he could without Blue hearing.

“Keep your eyes on-on-on him. He’s up to something, if he makes a move, kill-”

Slim took Braces hand. “W-we can trust him!”

Braces eyes narrowed. “You know s-something?”

Slim smirked and gave his hand a squeeze. Braces felt the acid in his stomach bubble up as if he were going to erupt. There was no time to deal with this the way he wanted.

Blue opened the doors into the back lot and took a step away, gesturing them to get out.

“We’re here. Grab a bag and hop out.” Blue smirked.

Slim grabbed his bag and did as he was instructed. Two Ton was next, he filed out without question. Even Fiver, who was still fighting a fresh wave of tears, grabbed a bag and got out without question.

Tails hesitated before taking her bag and climbing out. She turned just slightly away from the others. She flashed her blaster at Braces, letting him know that she had his back if things went down. It was the sign he needed to play along.

Blue beckoned for them to get a move on. Slim led the way, the others followed in behind him. Much to Braces dismay, Blue was bringing up the rear.

“Wh-which ones yours?” Blue asked.

“I-I think it’s that one!” Slim pointed.

“Are you sure, I-I think it might be that one!” Blue pointed to the smaller craft to the right of it.

“Al-alright, what is your fucking deal?”

Tails dropped her bag and drew her blaster, aiming it at Blue. He didn’t flinch, he didn’t even move. Instead, he stared at her with his steel blue gaze. Braces backed over to where she was standing, his mind working on every possible escape route. The thing that concerned him the most was all the open space. If Blue wanted to kill him, he sure could and easily.

There was a hollow click and the hum of a blaster charging up. Tails closed her eyes and exhaled as she turned to look at Slim, who’d drawn on her.

“Lower your fucking gun!” Slim said through gritted teeth.

“No!” Her voice shuddered.

“We-we don’t have to do this.” Slim reasoned. “I’m telling you, he c-can be trusted. So, let’s-”

Fiver darted forward and snatched Slim’s wrist, pushing it towards the sky but no shot was fired. The safety was clearly on but Tails’ pulled the trigger. The thrum of the blaster sent a heated carbon blast right for Blue and then everything fell away.

She was falling…

…only for half a second before her back hit something cold and hard. Her blaster popped free from her hand and scraped against the metal floor as it skidded away.

Her head was ringing and her stomach churned. When she managed to open her eyes, she looked up at a green portal in the ceiling above and quickly sat up.

She was in a rather pristine looking room. They were the private quarters of someone very important. Outside the window, she could see the citadel and millions of miles of space opening up behind it.

Braces sat up next to her adjusting his glasses, when she saw him; she hugged him tightly. They were both trembling.

Fiver, and Two Ton lay on the floor next to them, trying to get a hold of their faculties. Braces got to his feet first, only to be staggered as one of their bags came through the portal and hit him in the shoulder. Tails scrambled to her feet to move out of the way just in time for Slim to drop through, holding his own bag and one other. Then Blue slipped through, disabling the portal almost before he hit the floor. Slim was already helping Two Ton to his feet, making sure he was alright before moving on to help Fiver.

Before anyone could explain anything, Braces was yelling. “W-where are we?”

“Perhaps I can answer you.”

Everyone turned to see a Morty, not just any Morty either. This one had a cool, calm presence of someone who was in charge. He wore a black button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to before the elbow. The red tie stuck out from the black ensemble like a beacon in the darkness.

“I wasn’t expecting you to just drop in, or else I’d prepared refreshments for you.”

He offered them a friendly smile and beckoned for them to take a seat at the lavish table that was barely large enough to seat all of them. One by one they each sat, except for Blue and Slim.

The Morty and Slim embraced, patting each other on the back while sharing a familiar laugh.

“Good to see you again, man!” Slim pulled back with a smile on his face.

“As always Slim, you did a remarkable job picking your team.” The Morty chuckled.

“I can’t take a-all the credit. If I hadn’t had that info you dug up, Red, it would have been a lost cause.” Slim flopped down in the chair next to Braces.

When Slim tried to take his hand, Braces jerked away. He could see the hurt look in his eyes.

“W-what the fuck is this?” He glared at Slim.

“I can answer all que-”

Blue crossed the room and held out the portal gun to him. “Here’s your portal g-gun back, sir.”

Red took it and nodded. “Thank you, Blue.”

He turned to regard everyone with an even nod and an easy smile. There was nothing threatening about this Morty but the impending feeling that there could be hung in the air.

“First of all, allow me to congratulate you on the amazing job you did on the heist.” He said smoothly. “Slim picked the four of you because he believed in you the most and he was one hundred percent right. The four of you lost your Ricks, forcing you to change and adapt to the harsh realities of the Citadel.”

“So this w-w-was some kind of training exercise!” Fiver snapped.

“Not quite.” Red paced over to him. “Though I won’t deny that if it was, you’d all have passed.”

“But it’s not.” Braces said, sizing up Red to find out what he really was.

Red sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been out campaigning for several days now; I’m tired of all the speeches and rhetoric, so let’s cut to the chase. I’m running for President of the Citadel and I’m in dire need of funding. The funding you’re going to donate to the cause.” He gestured to the pile of bags, Blue stacked against the wall.

“Wait, what?” Tails and Braces said at the same time.

“Hold on there, bud! I ain’t giving you that money.” Fiver snapped. “That’s how I’m getting back home.”

“You wanna go home?” Red glared at him.

“I can just send you there. I have a fucking portal gun! I’ll just open a portal to there.” He showed him the portal gun. “What I’m offering you is a chance to change the face of every Rick born decision on the Citadel. I’m offering you a chance to help all the other poor Mortys that don’t have the will to fight for themselves.”

Braces looked at Tails, he could see that soft fire in her eyes growing larger. Even Fiver who was still distraught over losing White seemed to perk up.

“Now, if you give me this money. I can use it to run a fair campaign-”

“What c-chance do you have against a bunch of Ricks?” Braces leaned forward in his chair.

“A pretty good one, now please, consider what I’m asking.”

“Say we give – say we donate our money,” Tails said calculatedly. “Then-then we have to go back to our shitty lives. For some of us, that’s not an option.”

“You won’t have to go anywhere.” Red rested his chin on his hands and smiled. “I for one could use a good covert team working for me before and after the election.”

“I-is the pay good?”

“Very good, babe!” Slim smirked at Braces.

Braces crossed his arms and looked away. Obviously, still upset about him lying to the entire group. Red shifted in his chair to cross his legs. He looked hopeful that they were still listening and believed that there was a chance.

“If you folks need time to think about it, I-”

“I’m in.” Tails leaned on the table.

Braces and Fiver shot a look at her, their mouths hanging open.

“You’re what?” Braces said.

“A-a-all my life, I’ve wanted nothing more than every shit stained Rick to g-g-get what was – to get what they deserve. I think this is the time t-to commit to that.” Tails didn’t look away from Red. “You can have my money.”

“Excellent.” Red bobbed his head. “Take some time to relax and unwind with me on this ship, in one week I’ll have a job, salary, and a place of residence you can call your own.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that – um - what did you say your name was?” Red cocked his head.

“Tails, just – call me Tails.” She leaned back in her chair feeling good about her decision.

“Will there be food?” Two Ton mumbled, digging in his pocket for something.

“As much as you want, my friend.” Red smirked.

Two Ton tore away the wrapper of a candy bar he’d manifested as if by magic and started chewing on it. It only took until his second bite before he started nodding.

“Okay.” He said with a cheek full of nut based candy bar. “You can have mine, too.”

Slim got up and looked from Fiver to Braces. “Come on guys, th-that’s three of us. With your money, we stand a fucking chance to taking them Ricks out at the knee.”

Braces got up. “I can’t-”

“No! Co-come on, Chrome, please.”

“I c-can’t, not after all of this.” Braces teared up.

Slim sighed. “I-I wanted to tell you-”

“I told him under no circumstance-”

“Hey Red, h-hang it in your ass for right now.” Slim growled, glaring back at him.

Red looked indignant but not unreasonably so. He smoothed his tie and settled back in his chair.

Slim turned his attention back to Braces before taking his hands. This time Braces didn’t pull away. Maybe, just maybe there was a way to fix this. Slim had his reasons and at this point, it was worth any shot just to hear him out. Braces knew that he could always leave, twenty-seven million dollars to show for it but a few less friends to speak of. That’s what kept him there in the first place.

“I know I-I-I lied. That makes me the biggest shit ever. But-but I swear to you, that’s the only lie I told you. Everything – all of the rest’s been true.” Slim sighed. “Since Slick died, I-I never felt like I belonged. Even working for Red, it was just a job. I didn’t believe in his schemes until I-I met you guys and real – and found that there were others like me.”

Braces stared at him for a long time. He wasn’t sure what to believe but he could see that this was the most honest Slim had ever seemed since they’d met him. Here he was, talking to the group but he was staring deep into Braces eyes as if it were for his ears only. There was something to say about that.

“I’ll never lie again.” He uttered.

Braces took a deep breath. “Do you love me?”

Slim’s eyes went wide, as he imagined everyone else who mattered did so as well. There was a tentative look that beaded sweat on his brow and yet, he didn’t look away.

“Yeah, I do. That’s why I want you to do it. I-I-If you do, we’ll have a job together, a new life together, and-and the security to just be us.” Slim’s face slowly turned as red as his shirt. “If you take the money and leave, then we may never see each other again.”

Braces gave him a soft kiss on his cheek, feeling the warmth of the blush over his own. “Alright, I’ll stay but no more lies.”

The rest of the room let out an excited cheer and Slim would have too if he wasn’t in the middle of kissing Braces. Tails covered her eyes animatedly but left a gap between her fingers to watch.

“Well, that just leaves Fiver.” Red said.

Tails turned and looked around but Fiver was nowhere to be seen. One of the bags was missing as well.

“Where did he go?” Red got up from his seat.

Blue rested a hand on his shoulder and gave him a light nod. “Allow me.”


	14. Song Sung Blue

Fiver was near the airlock of the ship and trying to find the way to an escape pods. The citadel may be a shithole but for a Morty with twenty-seven million dollars, it could be worth it to hang around for at least a decade or so. Though, the first thing he’d have to do is forget White ever existed. At this point, that didn’t seem like such an easy task.

It didn’t take long for Blue to find him. The cruiser class ship wasn’t that big and it wasn’t as if Fiver could strap on a parachute and float back to the Citadel.

Fiver heard him approaching but ignored his presences, continuing to look for a way to leave.

“You’ve grown.” Blue said, his voice taking on a familiar gravelly drawl.

Fiver stopped in his tracks but didn’t turn around.

“I thought it was you.”

Blue took a few steps closer.

“I’ve m-missed you.” Blue stated.

“You abandoned me.” Fiver’s voice peaked as he whirled around to face him, letting the heavy bag hit the floor.

“I didn’t, you can’t really - honestly believe I left you.” Blue kept his voice low.

“What th-then? Where did you – did you get fucking drunk and pass out somewhere, old man.” Fiver slammed his hands into Blue’s chest, trying to keep his tears under control.

“Remember when I s-said I had – there was business I needed to do on the Citadel.” Blue waited for him to answer the rhetorical question. “I did and I got caught. Captured and taken before the Citadel of Ricks! They-they put this fucking thing in my head that blocked my memories.”

Blue hugged him tightly and the fighting slowly died down to helpless grunts and tears. Fiver hugged his body. No matter how hard he tried to think of something scathing to say, he couldn’t. Even if he looked different, he was still his grandpa. He could just feel it.

“They dropped me in a nursing home, a place where I’d atrophy and be forgotten. But the fucking device it-it only blocked my memory. I never forgot you.” Blue explained.

“About nine months ago, Red found me – he rescued me. H-h-he removed that thing from my head and the first thing I did was come to find you. But your trail ran cold at the Creepy Morty.” Blue hesitated. “That’s when – that’s why I pledged to help Red with his plan.”

“I took the place of some – of this Rick known as Blue in the Gr-augh-and Casino. That way I could move around unseen.”

“You w-w-worked at the same hotel as me and-and didn’t even know it?” Fiver hopped up to sit on the top bar of a railing.

“About a month ago, I saw you and thought, even for a Morty, you looked familiar. I-I did some research and realized the connection between you, White, and the Creepy Morty.” Blue leaned against the railing next to him.

“You knew and-and didn’t tell me?”

“Red wouldn’t let me; h-he-he knew that keeping my identity - if I kept it a secret would increase the success of the heist.”

Fiver buried his face in his hands. “You have n-no idea what I-I’ve been through. Y-you have no idea the things I-I did to make ends meet.”

Tears ran down his face as he glared up at Blue. “I did things th-that haunt me. Every time I close my fucking eyes, they’re there. And-and you know how I rationalized it. You kn – you fucking know how I dealt with it?” He gripped his legs, pinching as hard as he could. “I told myself that as long as I let a Rick do those th-things to me, in some twisted way, it-it-it was like spending time with you.”

Blue reached out to touch him and he slapped his hand away. “No! You don’t get t-to wipe my tears away. They’re mine, I fuckin’ earned them. I earned th-them on my hands and knees.”

Fiver broke down, not even his hands could hold back the tears. They fell upon the gray legs of his dress pants, turning them even darker in color. Blue just stood there. Even if Fiver wouldn’t let him touch him, he wasn’t about to leave him to deal with this alone. He had every right to be mad. What should have been a simple job, turned south quickly and Fiver was the one who ultimately paid the price.

“You…you can have the money.” Fiver sniffled hard. “It-it don’t mean squat to me. It-it’s not like I can go home anyway. Ain’t nothing there for me, ain’t nothing out here for me! There ain’t nowhere for me to go.”

“Take the money, all-all I ask is that you put me out of my misery, please.” Fiver grabbed Blue by the collar. “I can’t – I don’t care if it’s cowardly, I just want th-this torment to end. ‘Cause I ain’t strong enough to do it alone.”

“Then d-don’t do it alone.” A voice came from the hatch leading the way they’d come from. “It’s n-not a burden you have to carry by yourself.”

“Tails.” Fiver sighed.

She sidled passed Blue and took his hand. “I know these things haunt you, I see the same things e-e-every night when I close my eyes. I can’t - I – it doesn’t get any easier but if you have s-someone to carry them with, they’re not so heavy.”

“She’s r-right.”

Braces stepped into the room, Slim barely a handhold behind him as he came in.

“We’re all here for you, Cowpoke!” Slim rested and elbow on his thigh.

Even Two Ton managed to muscle by, nearly knocking Blue over. At this point, Blue was forced to retreat to safety of the connecting hallway where there was surprisingly more room.

Everyone was gathered around Fiver. Tails caressed his cheek, Braces had his head on his shoulder, and Slim was resting on his thigh. Even Two Ton gave him a simple pat on the back.

“If you needed a-any-anymore convincing, I’ll move in w-with you and keep you company.” Tails smiled.

“Hell, we’ll all move in together.” Slim laughed.

“Hopefully, we’ll have more bedrooms and bathrooms.” Braces added.

At first, it wasn’t easy for Fiver to make up his mind but knowing that his friends were going to stick by him no matter what, did make him feel better. He pulled them all into a great big hug.

***

Red kept his promise. He went on to win the presidency, and put into effect a certain change to the way the citadel ran. There was a new hierarchy being put into full swing. Mortys were finally going to get their say and the Ricks that opposed them were going to be put in their place. Not that it mattered much to Braces and his friends. They were too busy living the quiet secluded life they always wanted to.

It was easy, since the five of them supposedly died in the terrible fire in the Gr-augh-and Casino hotel. No one was able to figure out how it started. It hadn’t been on purpose, though it was a happy accident that Braces could live with.

Besides being in a fairly committed relationship with Slim, Braces was too busy reading and tinkering with every piece of Rick tech dropped on his doorstep. He even managed to build a portal gun that actually functioned. He had the inkling to use it a few times but it had been so long and he had no idea what he’d say to his family when they saw him. For now, he was content to live with his friends and tinker to his hearts’ content.

Slim settled down with Braces, finding new outlets for his thrill seeking. Most of them involved video games. Slick never really wanted him to succumb to the idiot box but now that Slim was officially dead; it would be hard for the ghost of Slick Rick to find him right? At least that’s what he told himself to ease the guilt. He still enjoys the finer things, the type of things that are expensive, which isn’t a problem since the Citadel is quietly footing the bill.

Fiver and Tails were almost inseparable. They’d been quietly living a semi-romantic life together. Fiver knew when to hold her and when she just needed her space. Sometimes Tails became so inconsolable that the only thing Fiver could do was play his guitar and sing for her. It brought her back to him and she just listened to his songs.

Fiver had quiet moments too. Tails wasn’t as good at dealing with them as he was with hers but she still managed to try. She gave him backrubs and told him jokes he’d heard a thousand times. It didn’t stop him from enjoying them though and kept him from slipping into complete despair.

As for Two Ton, he found himself a very important job. After a near fatal assassination attempt on Red’s life, he was now his new bodyguard. He could get in close to Red and make sure nothing happened to him. It was a dangerous job but the pay was good. It got him as much food as he wanted, whenever he wanted it.

\--Insert 80’s upbeat theme song and roll credits because this bitch is done.--


End file.
